United Technologies (UTC) executives are confident that business aviation will help boost subsidiary Pratt & Whitney's balance sheet this year as Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) ramps up to meet rising demand. Pratt is projecting a year-over-year top-line revenue percentage increase "in the low teens," UTC president Greg Hayes said during a January 24 earnings call.

"Keep in mind, it's not just [the PW1000 Geared Turbofan]," he said, referring to the planned production ramp-up on Pratt's new narrowbody powerplant. "We also have the PW800 up at Pratt Canada. So there is real growth out there."

The PW800-series engine, which features the PW1000G's core, powers the Gulfstream G500 and G600; it also was selected last month by Dassault to power a new Falcon. Performance targets include a 10 percent fuel-burn reduction compared to other engines in its 16,000-pound-thrust class, and double-digit reductions in noise levels. G500 certification is expected in the first quarter, with deliveries to follow soon. Plans call for the G600 to enter service later this year, and the yet-to-be-named Falcon in 2022.

P&WC delivered 1,980 engines in 2017, down from 2,297 in 2016 and 2,532 in 2015. UTC executives are cautiously optimistic that 2018 will be the start of a turnaround.

"The helicopter market is bottoming out and hopefully starts to improve," said Akhil Johri, UTC's CFO. "There is an improving sentiment about the business jet market. We'll see whether that turns around or not, but we certainly have a market share gain with the Gulfstream."