P&WC focused on strength

By: Matt Thurber

October 22, 2009
Business Aviation

John Saabas, president of engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), is focused on strengthening the company so that, he said, “we come out of this downturn stronger than we were coming in. We want to keep investing in the core of the business and reduce costs in areas we can and keep investing in new products.” During the past year, total revenues have dropped about 25 percent, according to Saabas.

Major P&WC programs continue unabated, he said, including the PW307B for the upcoming Learjet 85, the PW210 for the Sikorsky S-76D and the PTC-67E for Eurocopter’s EC 175. Work continues, too, on the PW800 core for the engine that would have powered Cessna’s canceled Columbus large-cabin jet. “We want to be ready for something else that may show up,” Saabas said.

Another strong area of investment is customer service, under P&WC’s Customer First initiative. With 90 percent of its 10,000 customers operating just one or two aircraft, P&WC has to spread its service resources across the globe, including both factory-owned and authorized partners.

“We’ve done our best to be close geographically with parts, hot-section and overhaul capability and mobile repair teams,” he said. “We challenge ourselves with 24-hour return to service, if it doesn’t require engine removal. We’ve made significant progress toward that.”

At the NBAA show, P&WC announced a new option for operators that want to enroll in the Eagle Service Plan hourly maintenance cost program. The new Flex option allows operators to enroll in-service engines (for a limited time) while deferring “payment for the majority of hours flown prior to enrollment to any convenient time in the future,” according to the company, “including up to the scheduled engine overhaul event.” Here at NBAA, P&WC (Booth No. 5711) is celebrating the Eagle Service Plan’s 20th anniversary. 

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