Pratt & Whitney and Breeze Airways announced the launch of the airline’s longest nonstop route, a more than 2,250 nautical-mile, Airbus A220 flight powered by GTF engines between Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The celebration began on Tuesday at a first-ever airline employee town hall hosted at Pratt & Whitney’s East Hartford, Conn. Customer Training Center for Breeze founder and CEO, David Neeleman, and Breeze president, Tom Doxey.
“GTF engine technology for the A220 has been foundational to the growth and success of Breeze over the past two years,” said Neeleman. “We’ve been able to link new city pairs while reducing operating costs and environmental impact.”
The GTF engine is the exclusive powerplant for the Airbus A220 family, which reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions up to 25% per seat, NOx emissions by up to 50% and noise footprint by up to 75%. Certified for operation on 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and successfully tested on 100% SAF, GTF engines are capable of further reductions in carbon emissions, which will help the aviation industry meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
“GTF engines enable airlines like Breeze fly long, thin, transcontinental routes with game-changing aircraft like the A220,” said Rick Deurloo, president of commercial engines at Pratt & Whitney. “The inauguration of service between Providence to Los Angeles marks a major milestone in the airline’s rapid growth.”