Airbus Group SE will fly the largest version of its new single-aisle plane for the first time as early as this week, though using different engines than originally planned.

The plane maker has dropped plans to use engines made by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp., for the maiden flight of the A321neo aircraft in favor of ones manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co. and France's Safran SA.

The European company had long said it would fly the maiden flight with its Pratt-powered test aircraft first, so the shift is unusual given the years of advanced planning aerospace companies make for new jets.

Airbus has already adjusted production plans to push more Pratt-powered A320neo family deliveries into the second half of 2016, in part to ease pressures on the engine maker. Airbus has already missed a goal of handing over the first A320neo plane by the end of 2015 because of engine problems. The first was delivered to Deutsche Lufthansa AG last month.

The new Airbus single-aisle jets are offered with a choice of engines, while the rival Boeing Co. 737 Max, which flew for the first time last month, offers only a version of the CFM engine.

Pratt & Whitney has garnered orders for thousands of its new fuel-efficient Geared Turbofan Engines, which are critical to the future growth prospects of United Technologies in the commercial aerospace industry, but the power plant has suffered early teething troubles.

Airbus said the first A321neo with CFM engines would fly "in the coming days," with the Pratt & Whitney-powered version following "in the coming weeks." It played down the switch to the CFM engines and said "it doesn't matter which engine comes first."

Pratt & Whitney is already having to juggle engines for the A321neo test program, a person familiar with the company's efforts said. ​The A321neo maiden flight ​will use engines intended for a Qatar Airways A320neo jet. Those engines are available after the Doha-based carrier last year stepped back from its role as launch operator of the A320neo to allow the resolution of an issue that caused the engines to take longer to start.

Pratt & Whitney declined to comment on why it had fallen behind its rival in the flight test sequence, and said it was in talks with customers about delivery plans. Pratt, which has said its engine is meeting key fuel-burn targets, is still working on implementing fixes for some operational shortcomings on the design.

United Technologies Chief Executive Gregory Hayes has moved to reassure investors about the engine's progress. "These engines don't take long to assemble," he told investors last month. "It's a question of just making sure all of the parts are there on time, and that's what the focus is going to be at Pratt as well as driving the cost down."

Availability of engines this year for Airbus's plane is still affected by supply-chain hiccups that Pratt & Whitney suffered in 2015, even though the engine maker has since resolved the issue, according to a person familiar with its plans.

"They have been struggling with a series of small issues," Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bré gier said last month of Pratt & Whitney.

Airbus and Boeing have built huge a backlog of orders for their new workhorse single-aisle jets, boosting output and placing unprecedented pressure on their production capacity and that of suppliers to meet demand.

Delivery delays can hurt manufacturers and customers. Shares in Indian budget airline IndiGo slumped after Airbus said it would be late in handing over the carrier's first A320neo. Airbus and Boeing in the past have had to make financial compensation to airlines when planes were delivered late, though no customers have publicly requested remuneration.

Ted Mann

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com and Jon Ostrower at jon.ostrower@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2016 20:15 ET (01:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
General Electric (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more General Electric Charts.
General Electric (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more General Electric Charts.