Airbus’s board is aiming for a late April decision on a possible re-engining of the A320, according to chief operating officer – customers John Leahy.
“If we do it, it will be just an engine option,” Leahy told AviationWeek following a meeting of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Traders in Orlando, Florida. He is also reported as saying that there are currently 14-15 engineers working on technical studies for offering a new generation engine on the A320, which is expected to be launched at the Farnborough Airshow in June.
If a re-engining is approved, it is expected that CFM will offer the LEAP-X engine, while Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan is also expected to be a strong candidate. However, Airbus is understood to favour P&W launching a new engine through IAE as a successor to the V2500, which is a joint venture between P&W, Rolls-Royce, MTU and Japan Aero Engines. Recent reports though point to a disagreement between Pratt and Rolls over whether to use geared turbofan or three shaft architecture technology on a new engine. As such, Pratt has indicted that it could go it alone and offer the PW1000G itself rather than through IAE engine.
Boeing is also expected to make a decision this year on a possible re-engining of the 737NG series, which is likely to focus on the LEAP-X, although Pratt says that it could be technically feasible to also offer a version of the PW10o0G.
