Technicians assemble a General Electric Co. CFM56-7B jet engine at the corporate’s Aviation Assembly & Test facility in Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina.
Jim R. Rounds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A recovery in air travel is lifting sales and repairs on the aircraft engine units of General Electric and Raytheon Technologies as Boeing and Airbus scramble to extend their production rates of recent planes.
Sales in General Electric’s aerospace unit rose 25% in the primary quarter to $6.98 billion, the corporate said in a filing Tuesday. The unit makes engines for Boeing’s 737 Max planes and Airbus’ A320 family of narrow-body aircraft. The corporate said a rise in shop visits and spare parts helped drive up revenue for the unit.
Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney engine unit sales increased 15% from a yr earlier to $5.23 billion. Its Collins Aerospace unit, which makes all the things from avionics to aircraft interiors, rose 15% to $5.58 billion.
The improvements in those firms come as Airbus and Boeing are attempting to extend their output of recent planes for airlines. A surge in travel demand has also increased demand for brand spanking new jets and maintenance on older planes.
Boeing will likely detail its plans for aircraft output and deliveries to airlines for the yr when it reports quarterly results before the market opens Wednesday.
The corporate had planned to deliver around 400 737 Max jets this yr. But earlier this month, Boeing disclosed a producing flaw on certain 737 Max planes, its bestseller, and that problem could pause deliveries of a few of those aircraft.
CEO Dave Calhoun last week said the issue won’t change Boeing’s orders from suppliers because it continues to focus on a production rate increase.
