Revolutionary Pratt & Whitney PurePower® Engine Joins Spirit Airlines Fleet


Transforming aviation with significant fuel and noise reductions



EAST HARTFORD, Conn., -- Pratt Whitney's PurePower Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine has entered passenger service with Spirit Airlines, which is the first U.S. carrier to fly the Airbus A320neo. The aircraft made its first passenger service flight from Detroit to Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 16. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).



"Two things stood out immediately," said Jyri Strandman, vice president of flight operations at Spirit Airlines, who piloted Spirit Airlines' first Airbus A320neo on the ferry flight from Germany to Florida. "Number one was that the engines are extremely quiet. Secondly, when we landed, we noticed we had a whole lot more fuel than we expected to have."



Spirit Airlines calculated that on the 2,000 mile flight between Detroit and Los Angeles, the new aircraft saved about 422 gallons of fuel compared with the previous model. Performance on other aircraft also confirms that the PurePower Geared Turbofan engine reduces fuel burn by 16 percent, lowers emissions by 50 percent and reduces the noise footprint by 75 percent.



"We are very proud to see Spirit Airlines become the first U.S. airline to fly with our PurePower engines," said Rick Deurloo, senior vice president, Sales, Marketing and Customer Support. "PurePower engines are already in service with eight airlines around the world, and are yielding a better than a 99 percent dispatch reliability rate."



Spirit Airlines has ordered 55 of Airbus' latest narrow-body passenger jets, each powered by Pratt & Whitney's revolutionary PurePower PW1100G-JM engines.



Eight carriers are flying 22 GTF engine powered aircraft across the globe. GTF engines have earned more than 30,000 revenue hours and more than 20,000 take-offs and landings.



The PurePower Geared Turbofan engine backlog continues to grow. Pratt & Whitney has engine orders, including options, from more than 80 customers in 30 countries.



Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. To learn more about UTC, visit the website at www.utc.com.



For more information about Pratt & Whitney, visit www.pw.utc.com

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Sara Banda                                                     

Pratt & Whitney                                           

+1 (860) 565-4031 office                              

+1 (860) 202-8644 mobile                        

sara.banda@pw.utc.com                              



Alice Straight

Pratt & Whitney

+1 (860) 565-2344 office

+1 (860) 830-6187 mobile

alice.straight@pw.utc.com



Web Site: http://www.pratt-whitney.com

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