ATR is preparing to deliver the first 72-600 with the improved Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT-M engine, now that the powerplant has been certified by Transport Canada Civil Aviation in August. The new engine is to become the new standard engine for the ATR as well as for the Deutsche Aircraft turboprop that is still under development. ATR prepares for first PW127XT delivery. Pratt & Whitney Canada launched the PW127XT at last November’s Dubai Airshow. With XT standing for ‘Extra Time on wing’, the engine maker stresses that the upgraded version from the current PW127M will benefit from a forty percent on-wing time extension. Engine overhauls extend to 20.000 flight hours, helping operators to reduce their operating costs by twenty percent over the lifecycle of the aircraft. Other improvements will result in a three percent better fuel efficiency. The next day in Dubai, Air Corsica became the launch customer with an order for five 72-600s, with the first deliveries scheduled for this November. The same day, Afrijet followed with an order for three 72-600s with the new engines. More orders have followed since, including those from Maldivian. First engines have been shipped P&WC has already shipped the first engines to Toulouse, a spokesperson tells AirInsight: “Engines have already been delivered to ATR. We are already delivering engines to them in advance of entry into service.” The new version will gradually take over from the existing model, says ATR: “The PW127XT is to become the new standard engine for both the ATR 42 and 72. The PW127M version (which was introduced in 2008) will remain available for a limited period, for customers who had opted for this specific engine version before the launch of the PW127XT. Afterwards, it will be the line fit for all new aircraft.” Pratt & Whitney offers the XT in two versions: the XT-M with 3.360 shaft horsepower (shp) and the more powerful XT-N, which comes with 3.511 shp. “The PW127XT-M is the engine baseline, available for both the ATR 42 and 72. As far as the PW127XT-N is concerned, if we feel that there is a need emerging from the market, and our customers need this version, we will have it developed and certified, for the ATR 72 only”, says ATR. Deutsche Aircraft selected the PW127XT-S in June. (Deutsche Aircraft) A third version is the PW127XT-S, which will be available on the Deutsche Aircraft D328ceo that is expected to be certified in the second half of 2026. “This engine will be developed according to the D328ceo timeline. Engine specifications will be finalized through the development phase, which has just begun”, says the Pratt spokesperson. Full lifecycle at ATR The XT-S should have some life ahead of it, as the German aircraft maker enters the market only by the mid-twenties and has plenty of time to develop the D328ceo. At ATR, the situation seems a bit different. The French/Italian airframer is very busy finalizing the specifications of the ATR EVO, the new version that will be officially launched at the end of 2023 and which should enter service in 2028 or 2029. For the EVO, ATR is still studying the offers from all major engine manufacturers for the best suitable engine that should be easily adaptable for mild-hybridization or electric power. Longer term, ATR wants the engine to be capable of running on hydrogen as well, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Stephane Viala, told AirInsight during the Farnborough Airshow. Will the PW127XT be a stopgap engine then until the EVO enters service? No, says the ATR spokesperson: “The PW127XT engine is going to have a full lifecycle, like the previous engine versions we offered. Then when we launch the ATR EVO, and especially at the beginning, both versions will be on the market, as our customers progressively transition from their previous generation aircraft to the new one. It is the same strategy as what we have previously done when transitioning from the legacy aircraft versions to the -500 or to the -600 series.”
