Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.. Making comeback at time of high oil prices, technological advances to suppress noise

Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. is looking to apply the same technology used in its new fuel-efficient line of business jet engines to the growing turboprop market.

Pratt & Whitney Canada's new PurePower line of engines, announced this week at the Farnborough air show, uses improved aerodynamics and better materials to reduce fuel consumption and nitrous-oxide emissions. Pratt & Whitney Canada is now considering ways the company could make similar advances for turboprops engines, said executive vice-president John Saabas.

"All that technology is reusable," Saabas said in an interview yesterday. "All of those things apply to every engine that we do."

Pratt & Whitney Canada makes engines for business jets, turboprops and helicopters.

Once dismissed as noisy and uncomfortable, turboprops are now making a comeback at a time of soaring oil prices. A turboprop can use up to 40 per cent less fuel than a jet and technological advances have improved the noise levels on board.

Applying Pratt's new technology to the turboprop market could improve efficiency in "the double digits" compared to older engines, Saabas said.

"If you look at the regional marketplace in turboprops there's been a resurgence in the last few years, mostly because of the price of fuel, but also the ability to use shorter runways and more rough runways in Third World countries," he said.

"Back in 2002 and 2003 ... everybody said 'Pratt & Whitney, what are you doing, turboprops are dead?'

"Today, our products are very well positioned. We always believed in props."

This week, French turboprop maker ATR said it was considering making a 90- to 100-seat version of its 72-seat model.

ATR rival Bombardier Inc. also has considered stretching its popular Q400 turboprop plane, with around 70 seats, to a 90-seater.

Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey acknowledged a 90-seat ATR turboprop would increase competition, but with a three-year Q400 backlog, his division is prepared for it.

"Right now we're struggling to meet demand for our existing product," he said recently.

Pratt & Whitney Canada is now talking to several customers about a new line of turboprop engines.

"Pratt & Whitney always invests in a business case that makes sense," he said. "The turboprop market makes a lot of sense to us."