Page 25 - AAA January / February 2023 Latest Magazine | GBP

India, for the global supply chain. on Indian carriers, saving more than six bil-
lion litres of fuel. It would appear that even
In December 2022, CFM announced that its LEAP engine family Pratt & Whitney’s new GTF Advantage engine
had achieved 25 million engine flight hours in just over six years for Airbus A320neo family aircraft which is
of revenue service, achieving one of the fastest accumulations expected to deliver a one percent reduction
of flight hours in commercial aviation history. The first LEAP-1A- in fuel consumption, could not convince Air
powered Airbus A320neo entered service with Pegasus Airlines India. The GTF Advantage engine was due to
and the first LEAP-1B-powered Boeing 737 MAX entered service be available on A320neo family aircraft from
in August 2016 and May 2017, respectively. January 2024, when it become the new pro-
duction standard for the type. The new higher
thrust engine can deliver up to 34,000 pounds
GE Makes Inroads of take-off thrust per engine. This will allow its
Air India has signed a firm order for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X operators to either increase range or payload.
engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice engine services agreement.
These engines will power 20 Boeing 787 and 10 Boeing 777X GoFirst (earlier known as GoAir) will con-
aircraft. General Electric’s GEnx and the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 tinue with GTF engine for its 144 A320neo
are the two engine options available for the widebody 787, while aircraft and has also contracted for a long-
the A350 widebody is solely powered by Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB term EngineWise Comprehensive service
engine. Boeing’s 777X is available only with General Electric’s agreement. IndiGo had ordered PurePower
GE9X which is the largest and most powerful commercial aircraft PW1100G-JM engines in July 2012 for 150
engine ever built. Airbus A320neo family aircraft and included
a long-term PureSolution maintenance agree-
GE Aerospace last received a major order from Air India in 2006, ment. IndiGo however, has now however,
when it had ordered GE engines, then valued at more than USD2.2 opted for CFM LEAP-1A engines for its future
billion (at list prices) for its Boeing 777 and 787 fleets. Air India’s A320neos.
Boeing 777-200LRs, 777-300ERs are all powered by GE90-115B
engines, while the 27 787-8s are powered by GEnx engines. In Pratt & Whitney had also announced in 2020
August 2018, Vistara, which is now being merged with Air India, that Air India Engineering Services Limited
had ordered GEnx-1B engines for six Boeing 787-9s it had on (AIESL) would provide maintenance services
order. The first aircraft was delivered in March 2020 and Vistara in support of GTF operators in India and
presently operates 3 787-9s. the surrounding region. AIESL began its
GTF maintenance with a phased approach,
Air India had entered into a 20-year OnPoint solution with GE starting with engine upgrade and module
Aerospace (then GE Aviation) in 2011 for its GE90 engines. It exchange capabilities as immediate support
became one of the latest customers to have adopted GE’s 360 of the GTF fleet in India.
Foam Wash in November 2021 to help maintain its GEnx engines.
The 360 Foam Wash is an alternative to the water wash method, Pratt & Whitney’s key investments in India
and helps restore engine performance leading to reductions in include its new India Engineering Center
fuel consumption. The process involves injecting a specially-for- (IEC) in Bengaluru, which was inaugurated
mulated, proprietary solution that removes dust and dirt particles in January, in addition to its existing India
in the engine. Customer Training Center (CTC) in Hyderabad
and a Research & Development Center at the
Air India found that the 360 Foam Wash solution when used on Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru
GEnx-1B engines, improved engine performance by reducing that engages in advanced research in
build-up of deposits in the engine, lowering engine exhaust tem- the areas of materials, combustion, and
peratures, and improving engine compressor efficiency. In 2022, mechanical design. Pratt & Whitney’s state-of-
Air India expected to attain fuel savings of approximately 230,000 the-art India Customer Training Center (CTC)
gallons and a reduction of more than 2,200 metric tonnes of in Hyderabad is only the third such Pratt &
CO2 on its fleet of 27 Boeing 787 aircraft, compared to water Whitney training facility in the world.
wash methods.
India is an important MRO market and one
that is expected to grow over the next 20
Losing Out years. The importance of Air India’s large
Pratt & Whitney has lost out on the Air India order for its GTF order for global aero engine manufacturers
engines. Pratt & Whitney is the only engine company with a cannot be understated as an order from a
geared fan in commercial service. GTF engines power over 180 growing airline such as Air India, guarantees
Indian A320neos and A321neos and these engines have delivered business for the aero engine manufacturer
more than INR 8,000 crore in savings to Indian airlines since their for at least 20-25 years. It is also expected to
entry-into-service in 2016, company officials say. GTF powered generate greater in country demand for MRO
aircraft have accumulated over three million engine flight hours services and accelerate the Government’s
efforts to transform India into an MRO hub.
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