Pratt & Whitney (P&W) reported Q1 2024 sales of $6.456bn, up 23% year-on-year, as the GTF engine manufacturer continues to address manufacturing issues with its PW1100G GTF (geared turbofan) powerplant. However, despite ongoing mitigation efforts regarding the geared turbofan powder metal discs, P&W still recorded a record operating profit of $412 million (down just 1% from the same period a year prior).
P&W’s first quarter 2024 reported sales increase was driven by a 64% increase in commercial OE and a 9% increase in commercial aftermarket sales. ‘This increase… was primarily due to higher GTF OE volume and favorable mix, and higher aftermarket volume,’ highlighted P&W.
However, despite a backlog of over ten thousand GTF units – something RTX president and chief operating officer Chris Calio described as set to “drive growth for decades to come” – the main factor affecting ongoing OE production rate uncertainty is supply chain rates, potentially the single most significant issue also impacting the return to service times of the some 350 aircraft set to be grounded between 2024 and 2026.
Despite being at the “early stages” of the process, “we continue to stay on track here,” continued Calio; adding that results from ultrasonic angle scan inspections (following the Federal Aviation Administration’s most recent March 2024 airworthiness directive) were “all in line with expectations and assumptions”. With the GTF fleet management plan a multi-year process, Calio confirmed P&W’s intentions to “continue to grind through” over the next three years or so.
Admittedly, P&W’s priority has been ensuring that everything subsequently delivered to the final assembly lines has non-defective parts, meaning that “not a ton” of affected engines have yet received all confirming discs. However, Calio described that the current situation is “essentially at peak aircraft on ground,” despite installs potentially slowing down slightly throughout the year. “We played a bit of the allocation game this year and last year to get off to a strong start,” he continued, adding that availability of materials remains a key indicator.
“We have enough shops, we have enough labor – it’s material flow,” he continued. The wing-to-wing turnaround times (typically estimated to be between 250 and 300 hours) are dependent upon the mix of work scopes, added P&W, which is working under the proviso that around 90% will be ‘heavy’ whilst 10% will be more minor; suggesting that the creation of a midway ‘medium’ work scope could also be beneficial.
The prioritisation of materials to the GTF programme may also impact the V2500 engine programme, which has received a ""slightly lighter"" allocation. Whilst P&W continues to see demand in mature fleets for legacy aftermarket services, the company remains confident it can deliver the anticipated full year shop visits it needs for these products.
Regarding compensation to airlines affected by the GTF groundings, P&W says it has currently reached agreements with nine carriers (representing around a third of the global fleet), with a couple more negotiations in the “final throes”.
P&W Q1 sales up 23% as it looks to “burn through backlog” of GTF issues
