Pratt Chat: Prete Calls Award 'Another Validation' of Pratt & Whitney's Technology, Innovation

Pratt & Whitney was named Engine Manufacturer of the Year in the 2016 Air Transport News Awards, joining Airbus, Bombardier and Turkish Technic among the honorees. The awards were presented March 26 at an event in Salzburg, Austria.

Tom Prete, vice president of Engineering, Pratt & Whitney, accepted the award on the company's behalf. In this "Pratt Chat" interview, he discusses the Engine Manufacturer of the Year Award, and what it means to Pratt & Whitney.

Rob McGuinness: Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of Pratt Chat. I'm Rob McGuinness with Pratt & Whitney Communications.

RM: We start today with some news. Pratt & Whitney has been named Engine Manufacturer of the Year in the 2016 Air Transport News Awards. The readers of Air Transport News vote on the nominees in each of 14 categories, and a jury of industry experts decides the winners. Air Transport News counts more than 100 airline CEOs among its 55,000 subscribers and readers.

RM: Tom Prete, vice president of Engineering at Pratt & Whitney, accepted the award at an event in Austria over the weekend. Tom joins me today to tell us more about the award.

RM: Tom, thank you for being here.

Tom Prete: Glad to be here, thanks.

RM: So, Tom. This is the first time that Pratt & Whitney has been named Engine Manufacturer of the Year by Air Transport News. (This is a fairly new award. CFM won in 2014 and 2015; Rolls-Royce won in 2012 and 2013.) The readers of Air Transport News vote for the finalists, so is this win a little bit of customer validation for Pratt & Whitney, and what does the award mean to you?

TP: Let me start by thanking Air Transport News for the acknowledgment and the prestige of the award. We're very delighted to have it. I also want to give a shout out to all the Pratt & Whitney employees. I'm just receiving the award. Without their hard work and their innovation and their focus, we wouldn't even be talking about this today. That being said, I view this award, really, as a validation – yet another validation – of our technology and our innovation. The Geared Turbofan, for example, which went into service this year, is really a game-changing engine with technology that delivers double-digit fuel efficiency, 50 percent reduction in emissions. Those are eye-watering metrics. But this is just further affirmation that it is a game-changing engine and that we're very proud of it.

RM: There's definitely a change here, because Pratt & Whitney was not among the finalists for this award in the last few years. Something had to change. What is it about our engines that is setting us apart, and what do we need to do to maintain that leadership position?

TP: Well, I think what sets us apart is the sheer magnitude of the improvement over the competitors. With the Geared Turbofan, like I said, it's a double-digit fuel improvement. That's never been seen in recent aviation, jet engine history. Our 90-year anniversary was last year, and our whole history was about redefining aviation history through great breakthroughs in jet propulsion. This is just yet another step in that innovation and another very important part of our milestones. As far as the competition is concerned, I think, they're coming out with similar architectures right now. In many ways, mimic is the best form of flattery, and you can see that they are actually coming out with similar technologies that we have. Of course, we're the game changers that innovated at first.

RM: Some well-deserved recognition for a game-changing company.

RM: I think that wraps up another edition of Pratt Chat. I'd like to thank Tom Prete for joining me today. Thank you, Tom. For Pratt & Whitney Communications, I'm Rob McGuinness, take care, everyone.