Air New Zealand to Use Pratt & Whitney EcoPower® Engine Wash to Reduce Fuel Burn

SINGAPORE, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- MRO ASIA -- Air New Zealand has signed a one-year agreement, extendable up to five years, for Pratt & Whitney's EcoPower engine wash service, which will help the airline reduce fuel burn.  Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

Under the agreement, the Christchurch Engine Center, a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and Air New Zealand, will use portable equipment to perform the washes in either Auckland or Christchurch, New Zealand.  The service will be performed on all turbofan engine types within Air New Zealand's existing fleet, including CFM56-3, V2500, CF6-80C2, RB211-524G and Trent 800 engines, and will also cover the GE90-115B and Trent 1000 engines on order by the airline.  As Pratt & Whitney's New Zealand EcoPower franchise, the Christchurch Engine Center is able to wash other engine types and also can provide the service for third-party customers.

"The EcoPower engine wash helps reduce fuel burn and decreases engine gas temperature, which in turn increases the amount of time an engine can stay on wing," said Vanessa Stoddart, group general manager of Technical Operations, Air New Zealand.  "The closed-loop system means the EcoPower engine wash also collects and recycles water, making it an environmentally sound process.  This is a win-win.  We can help improve our bottom line and help the environment."

"Air New Zealand has a reputation as one of the world's most environmentally friendly airlines," said Andrew Tanner, vice president, Pratt & Whitney Product Line Management. "EcoPower engine wash is an innovative way for Air New Zealand to further lessen its environmental footprint while reducing operating costs.  It will help Air New Zealand reduce fuel burn by an additional 500,000 gallons per year."

Air New Zealand is an international and domestic airline group which provides air passenger and cargo transport services within New Zealand, as well as to and from Australia, the Pacific, Asia, North America and the United Kingdom.  It was named 2010 Airline of the Year by Penton Media's Air Transport World®.  

Pratt & Whitney's patented EcoPower engine wash system reduces fuel burn by as much as 1.2 percent, eliminating approximately three pounds of carbon dioxide emissions for every pound of fuel saved, while also decreasing engine gas temperature thus increasing the amount of time an engine can stay on wing.  Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines.  United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

EcoPower is a registered trademark of United Technologies Corporation.

CFM56 is a trademark of CFM International.

V2500 is trademark of International Aero Engines AG.

Learn more at www.pw.utc.com

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SOURCE Pratt & Whitney