Engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney has said it is on track to honour commitments it has made to end the GTF engine AOG A320 crisis.

Giving an update this week during the biennial Farnborough International Airshow, Rick Deurloo, president commercial engines, said he was proud of the progress made.

And he said airline partners are starting to see the impact of the work the manufacturer has done as well as the investment in its MRO and manufacturing capabilities.

Deurloo said it was important that the firm has the credibility of sticking to the commitments it has made.

“I said back in November we were going to be down to single digits (AOGs) by the end of this year, and we are. We’re on that trajectory.

“When I think about the incredible progress we’ve made on the A320, I know it’s still hard the amount of AOGs today, but if you think about the peak of last year to today, we’re down almost 40% on AOGs, and that continues to wind down.”

Duerloo pointed to MRO output growth last year of 26% which he said was a clear sign that Pratt & Whitney was keeping to its commitments.

“We’re going to see that same growth, or maybe even a little bit more this year. So those are the items that are going to help bring down that AOG curve.

“When I’m talking to our airline customers, they’re starting to feel it and sense it. They’re seeing that AOG help coming, and so we’re quite proud about the progress we’ve made there.”

Deurloo would not put a figure on the number of aircraft currently on the ground due to GTF engine issues, but he said widely quoted Cirium data includes aircraft grounded for reasons other than engines problems.

“We watch engine-related AOGs. We have special support with our customers, so we track what is engine-related AOGs. That’s what I’m looking at, and that’s the curve I see coming down dramatically,” he said.

Asked about comments by Airbus about plans to launch a next-gen short-haul airframe in 2030 and how that fits with P&W’s view that it will be 2040 before a new platform is flying, Deurloo said:

“Airbus are an incredible partner and have been for decades with us. You know we’re in constant and frequent communication. All I can tell you is that we’re in lockstep with Airbus, looking at next-gen single option and wanting to support their time frame.”

He added: “2030 could be a launch for them. I think that the amount of cut over that’s going to happen is going to be longer. If you think back to the NEO programme, because it was more of an engine change, it was a shorter cut over from CEO to NEO only.

“I think you’ll see a much longer span happen for both airframers because that’s the same for the Max as well. So again, bottom line, Airbus and Pratt have a long and healthy relationship, good dialog every day going back and forth with them, and we’re supportive of both Boeing and Airbus as they look at single island timing.”