British Airways picked RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney to power the next chapter of its short-haul renewal, selecting the GTF (geared turbofan) engine to fly up to 63 Airbus A320neo aircraft in a Farnborough Airshow announcement on July 20.
33 Firm, 30 Options, Deliveries From 2027
The commitment covers 33 firm A320neos plus 30 options, with the first jet due in 2027. Pratt & Whitney will service the engines through a 12-year EngineWise Comprehensive maintenance agreement, giving BA long-term cost visibility on a workhorse fleet that dominates its short-haul European network.
GTF Beats LEAP In A Head-To-Head Campaign
The decision hands Pratt & Whitney a symbolic win over rival CFM International, whose LEAP-1A engine had been in contention on the same airframe. GTF sits on more than 2,800 aircraft with over 90 operators globally, and the backlog now exceeds 8,000 engines. Pratt & Whitney touts the geared architecture as delivering up to 20% lower fuel burn than previous-generation engines, along with sharply lower NOx and noise.
Part Of A Wider IAG Fleet Reset
The order plugs into BA parent International Airlines Group's broader narrow-body reset and follows a Farnborough day-one flurry that included BOC Aviation's 300 LEAP-engine finalisation, Boeing's SMBC narrow-body split with Airbus, and Honeywell's 810-aircraft IndiGo mandate.
Reporting based on coverage from RTX/Pratt & Whitney, PR Newswire, AviTrader and AeroTime.