Groundings and wing-to-wing turnaround times (TATs) of Pratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofans that require inspections for parts at risk of having contaminated material remain consistent with company projections, RTX CEO Chris Calio said.
“There’s no change to our [airplane on ground, or AOG] peak or average during the period. No change to the turnaround time assumptions that are in the period and our customer support agreements continue to be in line with our assumptions as well,” Calio said at Morgan Stanley investor conference Sept. 11.
Pratt’s program to inspect engines with contaminated powder metal (PM) started a year ago. Company projections included a peak of 650 aircraft grounded, engine TATs of about 300 days, and a daily average of 350 AOGs through 2026. Groundings peaked early in the second quarter at a slightly lower than projected figure, while turn times on initial engines that have come back are largely in line with Pratt’s projections. The inspections and related compensation to airlines is projected to cost $6-7 billion to Pratt and its risk-sharing partners.
Current figures show about 670 PW1000G-powered Airbus A220s, A320neo-family, and Embraer E-Jets on the ground for at least 30 days—a 6% increase since Aug. 1. The figure includes airframes parked for any reason, not just the PM checks.
The end of the mid-year peak travel period likely explains some of the recent increase, as operators plan necessary downtime around demand. The groundings also include aircraft affected by ongoing durability upgrades that predate the PM issue.
Calio said the primary driver on turn times continues to be material availability—”gate two” in the four-gate in-shop engine overhaul process. The PM parts must be replaced, which has added unexpected demand in the supply chain.
Pratt is swapping as many PM-contaminated parts as possible but is not producing enough of the required parts—primarily high-pressure turbine stage 1 and 2 disks as well as high pressure compressor 7th and 8th integrally bladed rotors—to send each engine out with full-life material. Pratt also must gather needed spares to complete the rest of the overhaul work on each engine, which can vary based on each powerplant’s condition.
Gates one, three, and four in the process—engine disassembly, reassembly, and testing—are easier to control, Calio explained.
“While we have seen a significant uptick in receipts in structural castings and forgings, the demand is still huge ... because you need those parts for other” engines, he said. “When we have material, our network has shown an ability to really compress turnaround times.
“We’ve seen significant reductions in the other gates where you’re more in control of your own destiny,” he continued. “You’re not waiting for material repairs to come back. We continue to use our core operating system to take hours and days out of those so when we do have the materials, you can turn those engines very quickly.”
MTU Aero Engines, a PW1000G risk-sharing partner and MRO provider, has reduced some in-shop TATs through tactics such as streamlined workscopes.
The in-shop time accounts for about half of the total wing-to-wing TATs. The rest of the time is transit and often-significant wait times for open slots in engine shops. Pratt is adding capacity as quickly as possible so the shops equipped to do the PM inspections, which require special tooling, can focus on that work.
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