Pratt Feels Boeing Pain

A huge opportunity for Pratt %26 Whitney vanished Friday afternoon when the Air Force said it picked a Northrop Grumman aircraft for its new fleet of aerial refueling tankers instead of a rival model from Boeing.The Boeing Co. had asked Pratt to provide the engines for its entry in the contest, the KC-767, which the Air Force bypassed in favor of Northrop’s larger KC-45A, a derivative of the A330 commercial airplane by European manufacturer Airbus.The tanker program’s value is estimated at about $40 billion for 179 aircraft, and more if the Air Force ultimately replaces all of its 500-strong fleet. Selection of Boeing would have meant the assembly and testing of hundreds of Pratt PW-4000 series engines at the company’s Middletown plant. Analysts estimate that Pratt would have received $10 million or more per engine. The tanker is essentially a flying gas station for other airplanes.Besides the loss of billions of dollars in potential sales, the full repercussions for East Hartford-based Pratt are unclear. Jennifer Whitlow, a company spokeswoman, said Friday that Pratt is “adequately” staffed for existing projects and did not foresee workforce reductions. About 2,500 people work for Pratt in Middletown.

• Wish you were here?
• Upcoming events
• The Beguiling Announces Two Graphic Novel Release Events
• The art of packaging
• The 2008 Green Spaces Travel awards
• Regional Outdoor Events
• Pratt Feels Boeing Pain
• Outdoors events calendar
• Outdoor Events Calendar
• Maximum exposure for Crested beaut