ATR and Pratt & Whitney Canada partner to achieve 100% SAF readiness for PW127 engines

Pratt & Whitney Canada and regional aircraft maker ATR announced an agreement to collaborate to achieve 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) readiness in PW127 series engines by 2025, including the new PW127XT. ATR is aiming to obtain the 100 percent SAF certification for its ATR 42 and 72 aircraft by 2025. “Our collaboration with ATR will be underway throughout 2023 and 2024 and builds on our recent 100 percent SAF test flight with Braathens Regional Airlines, which was an industry first for regional aviation,” said Anthony Rossi, vice president sales and marketing at Pratt & Whitney Canada. “Alongside our efforts to continually enhance 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. While all Pratt & Whitney Canada engines have already been certified for 50 percent SAF blends for more than a decade, ensuring readiness to operate with 100 percent 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 fuelled exclusively with SAF. Working together, Pratt & Whitney Canada and ATR will conduct the necessary compatibility studies, engineering analyses, and aircraft ground and flight tests, among others. Certification of 100 percent SAF will ultimately depend on ASTM International defining a specification for that fuel, which we expect could happen as soon as 2025. The program will adhere to standards established by ASTM International. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]