Pratt & Whitney said Monday that it has signed a $1.1 billion agreement under which Alcoa will provide the East Hartford manufacturer with aluminum fan blades and other jet engine components.
The announcement was made at the Farnborough Air Show, which runs through Sunday.
Pratt’s annual appearance at the show was preceded by reports that a fire that grounded a fleet of F-35 fighter jets last month was caused by fan blades rubbing together within the Pratt F135 engine.
The F-35 had been expected to make its international debut at Farnborough, according to Reuters, which reported that Pentagon officials don’t believe the problem is widespread.
Under the 10-year deal, Alcoa will provide the first ever aluminum fan blades, as well as aluminum-lithium alloy blades, for Pratt’s PurePower engines.
Pratt also announced a deal to supply 40 engines and related maintenance to Mexican airline VivaAerobus, which will power its Airbus 420neo aircraft, with an option for 40 more. The airline will also purchase engines from IAE International Aero Engines, of which Pratt is a member, to power 12 A320ceo planes. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, Pratt’s parent company, United Technologies Corp., announced several deals of its own:
UTC will upgrade the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of SYERS-2 imaging sensors, which are used in high altitude cameras.
The company will provide wheels and carbon brakes for the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft as well as the Airbus A320neo.
It will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for SkyWest Inc.’s fleet of more than 100 ERJ175 aircraft.
UTC did not disclose financial terms of the deals.
Competing GE consortium lands $4.2B in deals
Competing engine consortium CFM International, which includes Fairfield’s General Electric and French company Snecma, announced three deals Monday worth $4.17 billion.
CFM said European airline easyJet ordered 270 of its LEAP-1A and CFM56-5B engines to power Airbus A320neo and A320ceo planes. CFM said the deal is worth $3.3 billion at list price.
GE and Snecma also unveiled deals with Chinese airlines Spring Airlines and Okay Airways, worth $620 million and $250 million, respectively.
CFM will provide engines to power 30 of Spring’s Airbus A320ceo planes. Okay will buy engines to power six Boeing 737 MAX planes and four Boeing 737 Next-Generation 737s.
