US carrier Frontier Airlines has selected Pratt & Whitney PW1100Gs to power 134 incoming Airbus A320neo-family jets, a move that will diversify its fleet away from complete reliance on CFM International powerplants.
The Denver-based ultra-discount airline, owned by private equity company Indigo Partners, currently operates jets powered only by CFM’s Leap-1A and CFM56 engines.
Airbus offers A320neo-family jets with a choice of Leap-1As or P&W’s PW1100G geared turbofan. “The airline is a first-time Pratt & Whitney customer and will operate their GTF-powered A320neo family aircraft on domestic and international routes in North America,” says P&W on 25 January.
The 134 jets that will get PW1100Gs include 49 A320neos, 67 A321neos and 18 A321XLRs, P&W says. The first of those aircraft is due for delivery to Frontier in 2022.
P&W will also maintain those engines through a long-term service contract, the Connecticut-based engine maker adds.
Frontier has a total of 156 A320neo-family jets on order. It has not disclosed which engines will power the other 22 jets, according to Cirium fleets data.
Other aircraft in the fleet of all-Airbus operator Frontier include 14 first-generation A320CEOs and 17 A321CEOs, all powered by CFM56s.
