New Delhi, Jan 12
The Indian aviation industry is at the cusp of a major transformation. It is perhaps the only country that promises exponential growth prospects for the aviation industry. The aircraft order placed by IndiGo and Air India vindicates such as assumption. Additionally, the prospects of companies like Airbus and Boeing establishing their assembly line in India could also prove to be a major game-changer in Indian aviation, given that this will help in major employment generation, skill development, and strengthening of the overall aviation and aerospace ecosystem within the country.
With such a promising growth prospect in the country, ahead of Wings India 2024 from Jan 18-21, 2024, Ashmita Sethi, President and Country Head, Pratt & Whitney highlights how the company is planning to support the Indian airlines as well as regional airlines which are planning to expand their footprint in the country. She talks about the new technologies being developed by Pratt & Whitney to control aviation’s carbon footprint and increase fuel efficiency.
Ashmita Sethi, President and Country Head, Pratt & Whitney interacts with Huma Siddiqui ahead of WINGS INDIA 2024 next week.
Following are excerpts:
What is Pratt & Whitney’s outlook towards India? Do you see the GTF as an active competitor in India?
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines, and auxiliary power units. We have a proud history of supporting India’s aviation growth for more than seven decades, starting in the 1960s with Air India’s Boeing 707s powered by JT3D engines. In the mid-2000s, we ushered in a new age with V2500 engines on IndiGo’s 100 A320ceo aircraft.
Today, IndiGo operates A320neo family aircraft with Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, which deliver industry-leading environmental benefits, thanks to the unique geared fan architecture. Pratt & Whitney’s PW100/150 turboprop engines form the backbone of India’s regional aviation growth – connecting people and growing economies. Since 2016, the GTF has saved operators 5 billion liters of fuel, and 15 million metric tons of CO2 globally. India was an early adopter of this technology, and Indian operators account for about 20% of these savings – that’s more than 1 billion liters of fuel and 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 in India.
Our next-generation GTF Advantage will provide additional thrust, fuel savings, and durability. It is being tested to unprecedented levels and we expect the GTF Advantage engine to be attractive to the Indian market in the near future.
The aviation industry is focused on developing technologies aimed at sustainable aviation and fuel efficiency. What programs is Pratt & Whitney focusing on, and which of these will be aimed at India?
Across our portfolio, Pratt & Whitney already makes the world’s most efficient engines for single-aisle aircraft and will continue to invest in next-gen technology to advance fuel efficiency even further. The introduction of the GTF engine in 2016 changed the game. The gear allows the turbine and fan to spin at their optimum speeds. It had never been done before on this scale in the commercial space.
The geared architecture, which is scalable, will be the foundation for next generation platforms. Our work on the GTF Advantage is just the first step on the long road to future propulsion systems that will fulfill aviation’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
RTX business units Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace are also developing sustainable solutions for regional aircraft that operate in the UDAN segment like the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator program. While we are still in the early days of developing technologies such as hybrid–electric propulsion, we are also looking to demonstrate its potential on larger-scale GTF engines for single-aisle aircraft. As battery technology continues to advance, the efficiency benefits of hybrid-electric systems will only increase. Combined with the work we’re doing to increase the efficiency of today’s jet engines and increase the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), all these improvements to propulsion systems get us closer to our goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions for civil aviation by 2050.
India will be important to shaping this future of sustainable flight. As we ramp- up our investment in Engineering, Supply Chain, Training and Data Innovation, Pratt & Whitney will tap into the industry, talent, and technology in India to ensure our success.
A robust aftermarket is a critical aspect of aviation growth and sustainability. What investments are you making in MRO and in new aftermarket technologies?
When it comes to our global GTF MRO network, we are accelerating our previously planned investments to increase capacity and bring more shops online to support our customers. In 2023, Pratt & Whitney announced three facility expansions and three shop activations across the GTF MRO network, which has more than doubled in size in four years. By 2025, we expect to have 19 GTF MRO shops online.
Talking about India, our focus has been on using India’s aerospace innovation prowess to deliver value to our customers. Last year, we announced the launch of Percept – an advanced AI-based Aircraft Engine Analysis Tool. Percept Computer Vision Product ” or”PCVP ” is a Pratt & Whitney-specific computer vision product designed by Awiros, an Indian start-up. Percept can identify missing components from aircraft engines by analyzing images of different engine sections. This tool can help in reducing the time as well as the effort involved in the pre- and post-lease inspection of aircraft engines.
We have seen investments in India by Pratt & Whitney recently, with new Capability and Engineering centers opened in the past two years. Will we be looking at more investments soon?
Pratt & Whitney has been consistent in its investments in India – and we have made deep investments in-country over the past two decades. Our flagship investment was the India Customer Training Center in Hyderabad and we recently made a combined $40 million investment in the India Engineering Center (IEC) and the India Capability Center (ICC) in Bengaluru.
As we continue to grow this partnership with India, we are also exploring supply chain growth here. We have been working with Indian suppliers for over a decade in machining and assembly, and our network includes leading aerospace suppliers such as Indo-MIM Pvt. Ltd., KUN Aerospace Pvt. Ltd., Titan Engineering & Automation Pvt. Ltd., Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd., PMI Engineering Exports Pvt. Ltd. and Magellan Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.
We have sourced nearly $55 million in the past 10 years from India from leading aerospace suppliers. We have also sourced over $500M in Engineering Services into India over the past two decades. We aim to expand our sourcing in India to reach nearly $150M annually by 2030.
Pratt & Whitney’s over 350 direct employees across the country are committed to building capabilities and delivering high-value services to our customers and we are committed to harnessing more of the talent inherent to India, growing our business while investing in the local industry – as part of our broader RTX vision for India.
With an Indian workforce of more than 5,000 people, RTX is one of India’s largest exporters in aerospace and defence.
