Pratt & Whitney on February 7 said it had opened a “new, larger TechOps engine overhaul facility dedicated to the global Pratt & Whitney GTF engine MRO network”.
Described as a 155,000-square-foot facility in Atlanta” for the housing of “disassembly, assembly and test capability for engines powering Airbus A220 and A320neo family aircraft”, the expanded operation will support the maintenance of GTF engines in more than 1,400 aircraft with 64 operators across three aircraft families.
“As both a customer and a member of our GTF MRO network, our relationship with Delta is one underpinned by transparency, teamwork and commitment. For more than 90 years, we have worked together to overcome challenges and find creative, mutually beneficial solutions,” said Shane Eddy, president of Pratt & Whitney.
“Pratt & Whitney GTF engines will not only power Delta’s fleet of the future, but many other commercial operators in the Americas and beyond,” said Mahendra Nair, Delta’s senior Vice president, Delta TechOps operations and supply chain.
The announcement came as Pratt & Whitney came under fire from Spirit Airlines chief executive Ted Christie during a results conference held the same day.
“Pratt & Whitney continues to struggle to support its worldwide fleet of neo aircraft as MRO capacity remains constrained and turnaround times for engines in the shop have been nearly three times longer than the historical averages for ceo engines,” said Christie, who is also the carrier’s president, who said the issue has forced Spirit to cut capacity expectations for 2023.
“Over the last six months, the GTF neo engine has experienced diminished service availability, an issue that has been steadily increasing over this period,” he said.
