Wednesday, December 14, 2011

JetBlue to Buy Pratt & Whitney Engines

JetBlue Airways Corp. agreed to buy 86 engines valued at about $1.03 billion from United Technologies Corp. Pratt & Whitney unit for 40 Airbus SAS A320neo jets the carrier ordered.

JetBlue becomes the first U.S. customer for the PurePower geared turbofan engine on the A320neo, the companies said in an e-mailed statement today. The airline declined to comment on cost. The engines have an estimated list price of about $12 million each, though carriers usually get discounts on big orders.

Pratt & Whitney beat out CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co. (GE) and Safran SA. (SAF) JetBlue has been evaluating engine suppliers since announcing a $2.5 billion order for the Airbus planes in June. The new model provides as much as 15 percent in fuel savings as well as longer range compared with the New York-based airline’s current A320s.

“We are confident we’ve made an excellent choice for our aircraft,” Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger said in the statement, after briefing JetBlue managers on the agreement.

JetBlue’s current A320 jets have engines made by International Aero Engines, a joint venture in which Pratt & Whitney in October agreed to acquire a controlling interest. JetBlue’s Embraer SA E190s have GE engines.

The new Pratt & Whitney agreement includes long-term maintenance. Before the JetBlue accord, Pratt & Whitney already had firm engine orders for 370 A320neos.

JetBlue is scheduled to receive the first of its twin- engine A320neos in 2018.

The A320neo has become the best-selling aircraft in aviation history, with Toulouse, France-based Airbus securing about 1,200 firm orders during the past year. United Technologies has its headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut.

http://www.bloomberg.com

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