Pratt & Whitney's GTF Advantage engine — an upgraded version of its baseline geared turbofan (GTF) PW1100G engine — is expected to receive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval in the first half of 2025.
President and CEO of Pratt's parent company RTX Chris Calio said in its earnings call: “We continue to make good progress on the GTF Advantage at Pratt with the completion of all engine testing requirements, including a test schedule with more than double the endurance testing of the original program.”
He added the company is “pleased” with the results of the upgraded engine. Deliveries of the engine is expected to follow in the second half of 2025.
In addition, the upgraded engine is expected to provide benefits to the base PW1100G engine. The company said it is “identifying elements that we can bring back into the base programme" as it goes through the certification process for the Advantage engine.
“These are things that maybe a few years ago we weren't sure we would be able to port over, but we're feeling today like that's something we really want to pursue and have an avenue towards,” said Calio in the call. “That will be very important as well to drive the GTF aftermarket margins.”
The GTF aftermarket margins are “going to be all about driving” the engines durability on the current installed fleet, he said. The company said it will deliver those durability improvements before the Advantage engine “fully cuts over”. Calio added: “We are aggressively continuing to put in and develop enhancements to improve time on wing, whether those be additional cooling holes, whether it would be coding.”
Management said the aftermarket phase of the GTF is “in a really good position” and is “growing at a robust rate, it is profitable”. The company added that future shops visits are going to “come with cash payments” and will create an additional tailwind for both Pratt & Whitney and RTX for over the next few years.