21 July 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased demand of Cargo freighters for carrying essential supplies, food grains, medicines etc. With commercial aviation almost on standstill there arose an urgent need for passenger to freighter conversions. The P2F conversions brought forward the question of engine service offerings, fuel efficiency and various other factors. In such situations the V2500 engine emerged as the most reliable engine to meet customers evolving needs as the industry is trying to tide over the pandemic. It is the quietest, most fuel efficient engine for the Airbus A320neo family, with the lowest emissions and greatest advantage in aircraft payload and range. At the same time, Pratt & Whitney is working with V2500 operators to offer custom aftermarket solutions for passenger and freighter operations alike.
“We were excited to power the first A321 passenger-to-freighter conversion,” said Bernie Zimmerman, president, IAE International Aero Engines AG. “With our custom service offerings tailored to the lower-cycle cargo market, we think the V2500-powered A321P2F will offer a strong value proposition to cargo carriers around the world.”
“The V2500 engine delivers a fuel advantage of about 3per cent, resulting in significant savings and a payload-range advantage which makes the engine attractive for longer-haul passenger and cargo flights,” added Bernie Zimmerman, “That’s why the engine has been particularly successful on the longer-range A321neo, where it powers 60per cent of the in-service fleet.”
Pratt & Whitney and IAE have been enhancing services for the V2500 engine, including LLP solutions, new and serviceable material programs, engine swaps and more, which can be tailored to operators’ unique operational and financial needs. With long-term agreements, fixed price services and transactional solutions, the company offers an increasing variety of work scopes and payment options.
The V2500 engine is also backed by an established global network of 18 facilities for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), including nine IAE partner facilities, of which three are managed by Pratt & Whitney and its joint ventures: the Turkish Engine Centre in Istanbul, the Shanghai Engine Centre in China and the Christchurch Engine Centre in New Zealand.
The engine powers the Airbus A320neo family, Boeing MD-90 and most recently the Embraer C-390 Millennium, a military and government transport aircraft, ensuring the engine remains in production for many years to come. V2500 engines power approximately 3,000 aircraft with nearly 200 operators in over 80 countries. More than 7,800 V2500 engines have been produced since its entry into service in 1989. In total, the V2500 has powered more than 60 million flights and accumulated more than 240 million engine flight hours of experience.
