Pratt & Whitney will not achieve its jet engine production goals until the end of 2017, later than its previous target of early in the year, an industry publication reports.
“The biggest challenge we have today is delivering enough engines,” Paul Finklestein, Pratt’s vice president of marketing, told the online aerospace industry publication FlightGlobal. “It will take through next year to get to where we need to be.”
East Hartford-based Pratt has encountered glitches in moving its more fuel-efficient and quieter geared turbofan models into production. Problems have included overly long start-up times and have delayed production of the Airbus A320neo planes.
Pratt parent United Technologies Corp. CEO Gregory J. Hayes said in October that Pratt’s production of titanium-aluminum engine blades also has caused some delays. It is a new process, Hayes said, which was more difficult than expected to learn.
Hayes also said that Pratt has hired former Sikorsky Aircraft and GE Aviation executive Shane Eddy to help with engine production.
Qatar Airways canceled its order for three Pratt-powered planes due to the engine problems.
But Pratt officials have said that they’ve made necessary software fixes and other changes that have the engines performing as intended. Now, it’s just a matter of catching up with customer demand, they say.
Pratt spokesman Ray Hernandez said Wednesday that Pratt is focused on meeting its delivery commitments.
“Our projections remain unchanged; we are targeting 150 geared turbofan engines this year and 350-400 engines next year,” Hernandez said in an email.
“We are working closely with our customers on the delivery schedule and are keeping them apprised of the progress being made,” he added.
Eight airlines are flying 26 aircraft powered by the new engines, Hernandez said. Those engines have flown more than 30,000 hours and powered more than 13,000 flights, he said.
Additionally, Hernandez said, the engines have met or exceeded “every performance specification,” delivering on average 16 percent lower fuel consumption, 50 percent lower emissions, and a 75 percent reduction in noise.
The backlog also continues to grow, he said; Pratt has more than 8,400 new engine orders, including options, from more than 80 customers in 30 countries.
