A320neo/P&W grounded in India

[WHBM]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-12/india-grounds-all-airbus-a320neo-jets-with-faulty-pratt-engine


On 12 March.

Continuing saga, but there is a significant fleet of these aircraft in India and they have now had one in flight shutdown too many.

Different opinions, but the way P&W run the company comes into question. Nothing done without a budget, and no budget to be exceeded. They have had more than their fair share of problem engines in recent times.

Did hear that Airbus at the start wanted the engine on the A320neo to be an IAE product, joint between P&W and Rolls, like its predecessor, because they felt Rolls brought something different and worthwhile to the development process, but Pratt were adamant they were not going to share with anyone.

[tdracer]

Pratt Commercial has bet the farm (and pretty much everything else) on the GTF. Their existing products (excluding the GTF) are quickly winding down and their market share on new production - again excluding the GTF - is near zero. The GTF is also their first completely new in-house engine in a couple decades. So they are going through two decades worth of 'lessons learned' for a new, state of the art engine all at once - lessons that GE and Rolls have worked through on a succession of new engines.
Before I retired I regularly worked with all three major engine companies - all have their strengths and weakness (old saying, the worst engine company in the world is the one you're dealing with today) - but I'd say that Pratt had suffered the most serious 'brain drain' from cutbacks and layoffs - exaggerated by the lack of new products over the last couple decades.
In short, I'm not confident Pratt currently has the expertise to sort all the issues with their new GTF in time to save the program. And since they bet the farm, if the GTF flops, Pratt's exit from large commercial engines will quickly follow.
Not happy days in East Harford...

[Turbine D]

tracer,
if the GTF flops, Pratt's exit from large commercial engines will quickly follow.
Not happy days in East Harford...
Fully agree. The worst decision P&W ever made was to abandon the development of the "10 ton engine", which left the door wide open for the GE/SNECMA unimpeded collaboration on the CFM International venture. It was known as the share to gain program and it sure did, for GE/SNECMA...

[Torquelink]

Did hear that Airbus at the start wanted the engine on the A320neo to be an IAE product, joint between P&W and Rolls, like its predecessor, because they felt Rolls brought something different and worthwhile to the development process, but Pratt were adamant they were not going to share with anyone.

I understood that it was RR who decided not to participate in the GTF as an IAE programme as they didn't think a geared fan was the right solution. How times have changed. Their participation in the programme may have helped stave off some of these issues but judging by the current Trent 1000 debacle I'm not so sure.