The FAA, the US Federal Aviation Administration, has issued the certification of the GTF (PW1100G-JM) that will be used by the Airbus A321XLR, Pratt & Whitney revealed on Monday, 16.
According to the company, the agency updated the engine certification on December 12 to include the ultra-long-range aircraft.
“This is an important milestone for the GTF engine program, which was the first engine to power the A320neo aircraft family,” said Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney.
The GTF uses gear technology to provide greater economy. This engine also powers Embraer’s E2 jets, as well as the A220.
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Type certification of the A321XLR equipped with the GTF in 2025
The FAA’s approval paves the way for the type certification of the A321XLR with GTF engines to take place in the first quarter of 2025.
“Overall, the Test Programme with PW GTF engine is progressing well towards completion of the Flight Tests and submission of Certification Documents to EASA by Q1 2025,” Airbus said in a statement to the editorial team.
GTF Advantage
For now, only the A321XLR with CFM Leap-1A engines is fit to fly. EASA, the European civil aviation agency, issued the type certificate in July while the FAA did the same in October.
The A321XLR entered service in November with Iberia in November. Airbus has not yet delivered any more of the type, but it has at least five jets ready for delivery.
According to Pratt & Whitney, there are 217 A321XLRs on order with GTF engines from 13 customers, which represents a little less than half of the orders.
Pratt & Whitney is also on track to certify the GTF Advantage engine, which will deliver 4 to 8 percent more thrust at takeoff while saving about 1 percent more. The turbofan is expected to be delivered starting next year.
Editor’s note: The headline and text erroneously stated that the A321XLR with GTF engine had been certified by the FAA, when only the turbofan received approval. We apologize to readers for the misunderstanding.
