Pratt & Whitney Canada and leading regional aircraft manufacturer, ATR have agreed to “collaborate to achieve 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) readiness in PW127 series engines by 2025, including the new PW127XT.”
Mr. Anthony Rossi, Vice President Sales and Marketing of Pratt & Whitney Canada says the collaboration with ATR “will be underway throughout 2023 and 2024 and builds on our recent 100% SAF test flight with Braathens Regional Airlines, which was an industry first for regional aviation.”
According to Mr. Rossi, in addition to efforts to continually improve aircraft engine efficiency, “SAF has a critical role to play on the journey to achieve the aviation industry’s goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050” explaining further that “all Pratt & Whitney Canada engines have already been certified for 50% SAF blends for more than a decade, ensuring readiness to operate with 100% SAF blends in future will allow us to maximise their potential for decarbonisation.”
Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, ATR’s Chief Executive Officer, added: “It is our collective responsibility as an industry to continue taking action to ensure that the vital connections provided by our aircraft across the globe are operated sustainably. We have recently demonstrated with our collaborators, Braathens Regional Airlines and Pratt & Whitney Canada, that ATR aircraft are SAF-ready. Now, we need to continue to join forces to increase SAF availability, as part of our common journey towards net-zero.”
In June 2022, ATR, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Braathens Regional Airlines jointly conducted a successful flight test on an ATR 72-600 aircraft with both PW127M engines fueled exclusively with SAF. ATR is aiming to obtain the 100% SAF certification for its ATR 42 and 72 aircraft by 2025.
