Move Over Rolls-Here Comes Pratt

Twenty years to the day after the prototype Boeing 757 airliner flew its maiden sortie, the stretched, -300 version gained an alternative powerplant from Pratt & Whitney when an aircraft destined for Northwest Airlines took to the air last week at the airframer's Renton, Washington, production plant.

The original 757, the -200, is available with a choice of engines to fit in its two underwing nacelles, but the newer 757-300 has been exclusively a Rolls-Royce machine-at least up to now.

Ranking third in Boeing's sales figures last year, after the 737 and 767, the single-aisle 757 is now undertaking a three-month certification program for its Pratt & Whitney PW2040s which will see it qualified under U.S. FAA and European JAA rules. Boeing will later increase the options available to potential customers by undertaking a similar trial with the higher-rated PW2043.

By Paul Jackson