(Reuters) - Aerospace supplier United Technologies Corp UTX.N said on Thursday it was working to resolve the issues that led to delays in supplying its Pratt & Whitney engines to European planemaker Airbus SE AIR.PA.
Deliveries of the newest member of Airbus’s narrowbody jet family, which generates most of its profits, have been disrupted by delays in engine supply.
“It is painful to see so many aircraft on ground. Our first priority is to make sure that we can make the airline that has our engine and use the asset, which, by the way, is performing very well,” United Tech Chief Financial Officer Akhil Johri said at a Morgan Stanley conference.
Deliveries and reliability have been hit by teething problems with the newly developed Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine, including the combustion chamber and an engine seal.
“We are working right now with Airbus to see whether we want to reallocate or change the mix between engines that go towards new aircraft versus what goes into the lease pool this year...,” Johri said.
United Tech, which struck a $30 billion deal to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins Inc COL.N last week, reaffirmed on Thursday it would deliver between 350 and 400 Pratt & Whitney GTF engines this year.
Last month, Airbus raised concern about the deal distracting United Tech from fixing industrial problems that have led to delay in new aircraft deliveries.
Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Arun Koyyur
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