CHICAGO, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of the company's ongoing efforts to conserve fuel and improve environmental performance, United Airlines today announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Pratt & Whitney for their patented environmentally friendly EcoPower(R) engine wash system offered by Global Service Partners, a unit of Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. UTX company. United projects a 3 million gallon savings in jet fuel annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 28,000 metric tonnes.
"With unprecedented fuel costs, United continues to look for innovative solutions to save on jet fuel," said Rick Wysong, vice president - Engineering, Materials and Planning. "In addition to saving fuel and improving engine performance, this system has the added benefit of being a faster, safer and more environmentally friendly way to clean our engines, enabling us to reduce our overall carbon dioxide emissions."
United expects the washes to reduce fuel burn, eliminate hundreds of millions of pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and improve exhaust gas temperature margin, which will enhance engine performance.
"With regular washings, we expect United's fleet and their customers' engines to operate more efficiently, burn less fuel, stay on-wing longer, and cost less to maintain," said Jim Keenan, senior vice president and general manager, Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners.
United Airlines will implement the engine washes on all aircraft in its fleet by this fall and will begin offering the service to third-party customers. United will perform washes at several airports worldwide including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington.
EcoPower(R) uses a closed-loop system with atomized water to wash aircraft engines, thus avoiding potential contaminant runoff. The patented system is more effective and much faster than traditional engine washing processes and extends time on-wing for operators of Pratt & Whitney, International Aero Engines, General Electric, Rolls-Royce and CFMI engines.
About United
United Airlines UAUA operates more than 3,200* flights a day on United, United Express and Ted to more than 200 U.S. domestic and international destinations from its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C. With key global air rights in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Latin America, United is one of the largest international carriers based in the United States. United also is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 965 destinations in 162 countries worldwide. United's 55,000 employees reside in every U.S. state and in many countries around the world. News releases and other information about United can be found at the company's Web site at http://www.united.com.
* Based on United's flight schedule between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2008.
About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners is a total service provider for engines made by Pratt & Whitney. In addition to engine overhaul and repair services, GSP provides customers with improved engine performance and increased asset value through a portfolio of services including line maintenance, engine monitoring and diagnostics, environmentally friendly on-wing water washes, leased engines, custom engine service programs, and new and repaired parts.
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.
Source: United Airlines
