Sichuan Airlines took delivery of an Airbus A321neo. The aircraft is powered by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines, making it the 100th GTF-powered Airbus A320 family plane in China.
The Airbus A321neo is leased to the Chengdu-based operator by BOC Aviation and is the 14th aircraft of the type in its fleet, according to planespotters.net data.
GTF engine entered service in 2016 and began service in China the same year. Now, two years on, the powerplants can be found on a 100 aircraft operated by nine operators in the country, Pratt & Whitney outlined in a statement on November 12, 2019.
“Pratt & Whitney is a long-term partner of the China aviation industry,” Yogesh Farswani, Pratt & Whitney president in Greater China is cited in the statement as saying. “We are honored to celebrate our 90th anniversary this year in this important and growing region”.
Pratt & Whitney GTF engine, PW1100G in particular, is one of two options available for Airbus A320neo family planes, alongside CFM International LEAP. Other variants of GFT also power Airbus A220 and Embraer E190-E2 aircraft. They can also be seen on Mitsubishi SpaceJet (previously known as Mitsubishi Regional Jet or MRJ) and Irkut MC-21, both of which are currently in testing.
Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies.