Pratt & Whitney is building on its predictive and preventive maintenance capabilities via a new deal with wireless technology specialist Teledyne Controls.

It is not the first OEM to do so: in 2016 GE Aviation also teamed up with Teledyne, in its case to exploit the higher bandwidth of cellular wireless networks and boost in-flight engine data transmission from a few hundred bytes to several megabytes by improving the capability of the aircraft communication and recording system (ACARS).

At the time, Teledyne’s data link technology was installed on half of Boeing and 70% of Airbus aircraft, a market penetration that is also attractive to Pratt & Whitney.

“Working with Teledyne Controls, Pratt & Whitney will expand its capabilities for collecting full-flight data to a larger population of aircraft. By using a service that many airlines already subscribe to, we will leverage an existing ecosystem to bring additional benefit to our customers,” said Joe Sylvestro, vice-president of global aftermarket operations at Pratt & Whitney.

Data relayed via Teledyne systems will feed into Pratt’s EngineWise health management solution, helping to provide preventative maintenance solutions, optimize performance and reduce fleet disruptions.

Under the partnership, selected parameters of the full-flight data will be transmitted to Pratt, while airlines will be able to control what data they share, said Teledyne.

“These advanced engine parameter data points will paint a cohesive digital picture of aircrafts’ health, further enabling Pratt & Whitney to draw insights and provide predictive maintenance,” added Sylvestro.

In February, Mexican carrier Volaris selected P&W POW1100G engine to power an additional 80 Airbus A320neo aircraft, and also agreed to a long-term EngineWise agreement to support them.