Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, has announced Ajay Surti as the new head of its India Customer Training Centre (ICTC) in Hyderabad. A licensed aircraft engineer for both Airbus and Boeing planes, he will focus on delivering high-quality training to customers and developing new opportunities to provide field support. The centre provides training on the company’s advanced GTF and V2500 engines to global customers.
Surti has over 27 years of experience in the aviation industry and has held various key roles in engineering, customer service, and quality across OEMs and airlines, including Airbus, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines. In his previous role with Airbus, he was the head of maintenance and retrofit engineering for India and South Asia.
Ashmita Sethi, President & Country Head, Pratt & Whitney, India, said Ajay, with his extensive experience, would not only spearhead ICTC’s programmes successfully but will also further drive the culture of innovation.
Surti said, 'Successful entry-in-service (EIS) for aircraft powered by our engines depends heavily on the availability of trained technicians and engineers who can maintain them. That makes the ICTC critical to the aviation ecosystem.'
Established in 2015, ICTC is only the third such facility in the world, along with the China Customer Training Center in Beijing and the Customer Training Center in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA. The India Customer Training Center provides specialized training for Airbus A320 family aircraft to airline engineers and technicians and has completed almost 12,000 student days of training for over 39 operators representing more than 27 nations.
Pratt & Whitney has a large footprint in India, with more than 1,500 engines and auxiliary power units in service. Its GTF engines power more than 180 A320neo and A321neo aircraft in the country and have delivered more than $1 billion in fuel savings to Indian airlines since it entered into service in 2016.
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