The FAA has issued a type certificate for the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage engine for the Airbus A320neo family of narrowbody airliners. On Thursday, the Advantage became the latest member of the geared turbofan family to be certified, following on from last week’s approval by EASA of the new A321XLR aircraft powered by the PW1100G-JM engines.

Pratt & Whitney launched the 34,000-pound-thrust GTF Advantage program in December 2021 with the objective of cutting fuel burn for the A320neo by 1% while also delivering between 4% and 8% more takeoff thrust. The additional thrust supports higher payloads and longer range for the aircraft, including from “hot and high” airports.

The manufacturer said it is committed to ensuring that the new engines can operate with future specifications for 100% sustainable aviation fuel. The GTF Advantage is now the standard production model of the geared turbofan family and is fully intermixable and interchangeable with current GTF engines in the installed fleet.

The GTF Advantage includes fully redesigned life-limited parts and technology enhancements throughout the gas path of the engine. According to Pratt & Whitney, turbofan is more durable and has an increased airflow in the core that reduces operating temperatures, as well a new hot section that will increase time-on-wing with reduced maintenance requirements. Some elements of the new configuration can be incorporated into current GTF engines.

Enhancements Throughout the Engine

In the high pressure turbine, improvements include an advanced airfoil design with new coatings. This unit, along with the combustor feature optimized cooling holes, and oxidation has been reduced through improved hole drilling techniques.

Pratt & Whitney’s engineering team conducted twice as much testing for the GTF Advantage as with earlier versions of the engine. The projected performance is also based on over 100,000 hours of engine and rig testing for all the GTF models and 38 million flight hours of in-service operations.

“GTF engines already offer the lowest fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for single-aisle aircraft,” said Rick Deurloo, Pratt & Whitney’s president of commercial engines. “The GTF Advantage engine extends that lead and enhances aircraft capability, providing more thrust and even more value to operators of the A320neo family aircraft, especially on longer-range aircraft like the A321XLR, all with a more durable configuration.”

More than 2,200 GTF-powered aircraft have been delivered to 80 airlines worldwide. Pratt & Whitney, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, has reported a backlog of 11,000 engine orders and commitments.