Pratt & Whitney and Avianca S. A. Sign Maintenance Agreements for 46 APS3200 and APS5000 APUs on Airbus A320 family and Boeing 787 Fleets

PARIS. Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp., is pleased to announce that it has signed two seven-year agreements with Avianca S.A. for the ongoing maintenance of 31 APS3200 auxiliary power units (APUs) on the airline’s fleet of A320 family aircraft and for 15 APS5000 APUs on the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet.

“We have worked with Avianca – Colombia’s national airline – for many years,” said Marty Kessell, Vice President, Marketing, Pratt & Whitney, responsible for APUs. “In fact, the contract for the APS3200 is for the renewal of a previous agreement that will soon expire. We take the APS3200 contract renewal and the new contract for the APS5000 as endorsements of the quality of service and the value we have delivered to the airline. APU availability is critical for reliable airline scheduling and on-time departures.”

The Pratt & Whitney APS3200 is the Airbus baseline APU of choice for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, and is designed to meet the performance and environmental requirements for modern-day, single-aisle aircraft. It provides 90kVA of electrical power and is certified for a 180-minute Extended range Twin Operations (ETOPs) operation, allowing for more efficient routes on flights of three hours or less.

The APS5000 was developed specifically for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and entered into service in October, 2011. The industry’s first all-electric APU, the APS5000 is simple in design and develops 459kVA of electrical power at sea level, starting and operating up to 43,100 feet. It is the quietest APU in its class with the lowest emissions in the industry.

Pratt & Whitney has built the largest, most comprehensive customer support network designed to meet the needs of its customers across all markets worldwide. The company is driving solutions for every customer to maximize engine, APU and aircraft reliability, reduce costs and increase asset value.

“P&W currently has thousands of its APUs under similar maintenance agreements and we are focused on keeping commercial flights operating on time and efficiently around the world,” says Kessell. Our goal is to make sure that our customers are able to fly when they need to.”

Pratt & Whitney has been a leader in the design, production and servicing of APUs for more than 50 years. Its APUs have accumulated more than 114 million flying hours.