Pratt & Whitney backs A320neo engines after Qatar Airways concerns

Pratt & Whitney said Thursday its new geared turbofan jetliner engine logged high reliability at its initial customer, Deutsche Lufthansa AG , a day after Qatar Airways raised concern about the engine's performance in hot climates. Lufthansa took delivery of the first Airbus A320neo jet, equipped with the Pratt & Whitney's engines, in January. Launch customer Qatar Airways said on Wednesday the engines were not adequately tested and that it was seeking performance guarantees from Airbus and Pratt. Bob Leduc, president of Pratt & Whitney, said at an investor conference held by parent United Technologies that faulty readings in the cockpit aren't related to engine issues and that a software fix was delivered last week to address that problem. "We're 99% dispatch reliable at Lufthansa," Leduc said. "An engine that's not robust, an engine that's not durable, does not demonstrate 99% dispatch out of the box." The company also introduced a hardware fix to the engines on its production line in late February to address the extra time required to start in certain heat conditions, United Technologies CE Greg Hayes said. Engines with the hardware fix will be delivered in May or June, while those delivered earlier will be retrofitted, Hayes said.<br/>