Engine Maintenance Programs and Warranties — 4 Key Differences

When it comes to maintaining your engine, preparing it for resale and ensuring maximum asset value, there are several key differences between an engine warranty and a maintenance program that are important to understand. We’ve outlined four of these below.

1. COMPREHENSIVE MAINTENANCE COVERAGE

Some operators view an engine maintenance plan as more or less interchangeable with the engine warranty. “We’re often told, ‘I’ve got the warranty – why would I need the engine program?’,” says Corey Williams, ESP™ Sales and Global Strategy. “In fact, they’re very different.”

A warranty only covers issues that can be traced back to when the engine was manufactured. It therefore does not cover wear and tear, among many other things. Pratt & Whitney’s Eagle Service™ Plan (ESP™), on the other hand, offers a wide range of coverage for a fixed hourly rate – with no annual minimum, meaning you pay only for the hours you fly.

Different plan levels are available depending on the operator’s needs and the engine model, but all include items such as major scheduled engine maintenance (including hot section inspection and overhaul), unscheduled engine and accessory maintenance, required engine and accessory upgrades, digital engine health trend monitoring and more.

“Over the life of your engine, you’ll save a significant amount compared to not being on an engine program depending on your engine model. That’s only for what you know will happen, like overhauls and hot section inspections. The savings will be even more if there are unscheduled events requiring aircraft on ground support, a mobile repair team visit and the like.”

– Corey Williams, ESP™ Sales and Global Strategy

2. MAXIMUM ASSET VALUE

There’s another crucial difference between an engine maintenance plan and a warranty. The former will be factored into the value of your aircraft when it’s appraised; the latter will not.

The difference may be significant, as Corey explains. “A warranty is not considered an appraisal item. From a bank’s perspective, it has no impact,” they say. That’s important, given that the engine is a major part of an aircraft’s overall value.

“A business jet on an engine maintenance program, for example, is normally worth significantly more as you are paying for future events such as hot section inspection and overhaul. Being on ESP™ for every hour you fly will give you maximum asset value.”

– Corey Williams, ESP™ Sales and Global Strategy

What’s more, if you sell your aircraft, your ESP™ plan can easily be transferred to the new owner, so it enhances the resale value. (For tips on how to seamlessly facilitate the transfer process as you approach the closing date of the aircraft resale, visit our ESP page               

3. MAINTENANCE PREDICTABILIY

Every engine on an ESP™ plan benefits from digital trend monitoring – a powerful tool that P&W’s team of experts uses to support planned maintenance and proactive issue resolution. By delivering detailed insights into engine health based on data captured after every single flight, it helps customers reduce their costs and optimize their operations.

“Leveraging engine health data is not talked about enough in the industry.  The power of the analytic tools is incredible. Your engine wants to tell you a story. Why wouldn’t you listen to it?”

– Corey Williams, ESP™ Sales and Global Strategy

Trend monitoring can also be an advantage when reselling an aircraft. If an engine has been monitored digitally throughout its life, prospective buyers will feel more confident about buying the aircraft. And if comprehensive engine health data is already available, it eliminates the need to borescope the whole engine during the pre-buy inspection.

4. TO COVER REPLACEMENT OF LIFE-LIMITED PARTS

For customers who choose it as an option, ESP™ also covers the replacement of life-limited parts such as turbine wheels and compressor wheels. These cannot be overhauled once they reach their cyclical limit. If you’re on an applicable ESP™ plan, you won’t have to pay for your new life limited parts (LLP), which represents substantial savings.

There are other plan- and engine-specific benefits of ESP™ – for example, the Platinum program adds coverage of corrosion maintenance, while for certain business jet and helicopter engine models, ESP™ customers receive a handy remote maintenance kit. Read more about that here: Flyaway Kits Improve Mission Confidence for Bizjet Customers.