April 17 (Reuters) - RTX said on Friday that its

GTF Advantage engine has been approved to be installed in the

Airbus A320neo family aircraft by the European Union

Aviation Safety Agency.

GTF Advantage, made by the defense supplier's engine-making

unit, Pratt & Whitney, delivers 4% to 8% more take-off thrust,

allowing higher payload and longer range, the company said.

Airlines are increasingly seeking more fuel-efficient

aircraft with greater range as they look to lower costs, reduce

emissions and serve longer routes that do not have enough

traffic to support larger, widebody jets.

That has heightened demand for performance upgrades that let

narrowbody aircraft, such as the A320neo that carry more payload

over longer distances.

The engine is fully interchangeable with Pratt & Whitney's

current GTF model. RTX expects GTF Advantage to become the

production standard and will stop making the old version of its

GTF engines by 2028.

Pratt and Whitney has been facing delays as it continues to

grapple with the fallout from a manufacturing problem disclosed

in July 2023 that grounded over a thousand aircraft across the

world and set in motion lengthy quality inspections.

The unit had originally expected the updated GTF engine,

announced in 2021, to enter service in 2024.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

GTF Advantage was certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation

Administration in February 2025.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank

Dhaniwala)