Executives open the new GTF overhaul facility in Atlanta.
Delta TechOps opened its dedicated 155,000-ft.2 Pratt & Whitney GTF engine overhaul facility that will be capable at maximum capacity to overhaul 400 of the powerplants annually.
Delta plans to output 70-80 engines this year before ramping up to the 400 level in about four years, says Penny Jacob, Delta TechOps Services Group VP of commercial.
Delta repurposed a cargo facility at its Atlanta Hartfield International Airport campus for the GTF overhaul facility that maintains and tests engines powering the Airbus A220 (PW1500G-JM) and A320neo (PW1100G).
Delta, part of Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine MRO network since 2019, inducted its first PW1100G in 2020 and its PW1500G at the end of last month.
Delta Air Lines operates about 80 GTF-powered A220s and A321neos, the majority of which are A320neos.
Delta’s new facility is one of 10 GTF MRO engine centers around the world.
In addition to the GTF, Delta also maintains PW2000 and PW400-94 engines.
The airline MRO has been positioning itself to maintain the next generation of powerplants for several years.
In 2015, it became a Rolls-Royce authorized maintenance center and three years later opened a new engine shop in Atlanta for completing maintenance on that engine. Delta followed up by opening a 150,000-lb.-thrust test cell more than capable of handling Trent XWB, Trent 1000 and Trent 7000 widebody engines.
Jacob says Delta plans to start adding CFM Leap 1B capability next year to expand its existing GE engine MRO services. The airline signed a contract with CFM International in July 2022 for Leap 1B engines to power 100 Boeing 737-10 aircraft. The deal included Delta TechOps becoming part of the Leap MRO network.
Delta already services GE CF34 and CF6 powerplants.
