Pratt & Whitney, part of the United Technologies Corp, which is the largest suppliers of aerospace engines, is looking at game changing technologies for the future. Despite a turbulent period, Pratt & Whitney sees a positive growth for engines in India. Its product suite includes large commercial engines, small engines, power systems military engines and it powers nearly 30% of the world?s passenger aircraft fleet. In India, Pratt & Whitney engines power over 300 aircraft. In an interaction with BV Mahalakshmi, Palash Roy Chowdhury, managing director (India), says that the aviation sector will clock double-digit growth in the long term, though there could be short-term challenges in the sector. Excerpts:
How big is the market for engines in the country? Looking at the current turbulence among the players, along with high fuel prices, how do you plan to grow in India?
The demand from India is expected to be in excess of 1,000 aircraft. As per Boeing estimates, the country needs 1,320 new airplanes valued at $150 billion. We believe in long-term prospects of this market. We understand there could be some short-term challenges in the sector pertaining to regulations, taxes, talent, etc, we along with players are working closely with regulatory bodies to bring in global best practices. Mega trends such as urbanisation, growing middle class, infrastructure investments, etc are bound to fuel the sector.
Our revenues were in the range of $550 million in 2009-10 and the target is to touch $2.5 billion by 2015. The progress has been good and we are on target. Apart from organic growth, we will also look at inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions.
What has been your latest innovation story for large engine products?
Our biggest innovation story so far is the gear turbofan engine technology, which took some 15 years for us where we invested over $1 billion. The PurePower engine family is a patented geared turbofan technology (GTF) for next generation of passenger aircraft and hypersonic propulsion systems for aircraft. These engines are expected to deliver double-digit reductions in fuel burn and operating costs with schedule entry into service starting in 2013. Indigo and GoAir are the new customers for PurePower engines and A320neo aircraft.
As the Indian aviation sector clocks double-digit growth, environmental impact will play an increasingly important role. India should proactively adopt new technologies such as the geared turbofan that addresses this important issue. For instance, the GTF not only offers 15-20% reduction in fuel burn adding significantly to operator margins but it does so while reducing the noise footprint by almost 75% and CO2 emissions by almost 3,000 tonnes per year per aircraft. To put that in perspective, 3,000 tonnes of CO2 equates to about 700,000 trees per year. So when IndiGo and GoAir operate their fleets, the difference in emissions between conventional engines of today and the GTF will be an equivalent of planting about 100,000 acres of forests per year in India. That in our mind, is serious CSR in itself.
Which are the airlines that the company is working in the country and what is your marketshare?
We have been endorsed by all major airlines in India such as Air India, Kingfisher, Go Air, Jet Airways, and IndiGo. With the current order from GoAir, we have 100% marketshare of new generation narrow-body aircraft engines in the country. We provide complete portfolio services blending OEM with MRO services as well.
What is the nature of investments and your future course of action in India?
We have a long-term commitment in India and are in different levels of due diligence for new initiatives such as training centre, MRO, manufacturing, etc. We have more than 1,000 engineers working on current and next generation products. We are exploring various avenues of leveraging India?s talent, cost and technology advantages in expanding our footprint in this region.
