The GTF Fleet: 1,700 to 2,600 Aircraft in Two YearsNarrow moat

RTX (RTX) — moat facet

Pratt & Whitney added about 900 geared-turbofan aircraft and 20 operators in two years that included the worst recall in its history.

Pratt & Whitney's future income is already flying. The geared turbofan family powered more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators when RTX wrote its 2023 annual report1; two years later the same sentence read "more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators"2. That is roughly 900 aircraft added in two years, a rise of about 53%3.

GTF-powered aircraft in service (more than, count)1,700+2023 annual report2,600+2025 annual reportRTX Forms 10-K FY2023 and FY2025; operators 70 to over 90
About 900 aircraft added in two years.

The engine is fitted to three airframes: the Airbus A320neo family, the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E-Jets E24. On the A220 there is no alternative. When AirAsia ordered 150 A220s in the second quarter of 2026, management described them as "exclusively powered by GTF engines"5. An airline that buys an A220 has bought Pratt & Whitney's shop visits for the life of the aircraft.

That is the mechanism of the moat. An engine is sold once, often at a thin margin, and then overhauled, repaired and re-parted for decades by the company that holds its certification and its data. RTX's own risk factors describe the price of getting in: "substantial discounts and other financial incentives, performance and operating cost guarantees, and participation in financing arrangements, in order to secure both new engine business and the aftermarket revenues"6.

The installed base grew through the worst years of the engine's life. The powder-metal recall, described on its own page, forced hundreds of early removals, yet operators kept taking deliveries and new ones kept joining. Twenty new operators in two years is the fleet's answer to the question of whether the recall broke confidence.

A growing fleet is only as valuable as the maintenance it produces, and the young GTF fleet has not yet reached its heaviest shop-visit years. The value is still mostly in the future.

The repair network has grown with the fleet. The GTF aftermarket network expanded to 21 facilities worldwide in 2025, increasing PW1100G-JM shop-visit output by about 26%7. Every new facility is capacity the fleet will need for its routine overhauls long after the recall inspections end.

The operator count is the plain test. If it stops rising, or if the next annual report says fewer aircraft than 2,600, airlines will have started choosing against the engine at the point of sale.

Moat trajectory: Widening

More than 1,700 aircraft (2023) to more than 2,600 (2025).

The number that tests this moat
Reported
GTF commercial aftermarket growth, latest quarter
Pratt & Whitney commercial aftermarket sales +25% (Q2 2026)

The installed base turning into shop visits; growth falling below overall sales growth would mean the fleet is producing less work than expected.

Source: RTX Q2 2026 earnings call transcript ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Young Engines Earn Less in the Shop
Pratt & Whitney's newest engine produces its overhauls at a lower margin than the old fleet, and its own filing says the mix shift held profit back.
References
  1. ReportedThe geared turbofan family powered more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators when RTX wrote its 2023 annual report; two years later the same sentence read "more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators".
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2023 - the three-segment recast of 2021-2022, the GTF family powering more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators, backlog of $196 billion, the Carrier and Otis separation and Chinese sanctions on Raytheon Missiles & Defense. — FY2023 · publ. February 2024 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe geared turbofan family powered more than 1,700 aircraft for 70 operators when RTX wrote its 2023 annual report; two years later the same sentence read "more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators".
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: the three segments and their products, the GTF family powering more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators, the F135 as sole-source engine on all F-35 variants, GTF Advantage certification, the IAE collaboration shares, employees (about 180,000 in 52 countries, 69% in the U.S.) and the divested businesses. — FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. Moat Explorer calcThat is roughly 900 aircraft added in two years, a rise of about 53%.
    Moat Explorer calculation from RTX's Forms 10-K FY2023-FY2025, Form 10-Q Q2 2026 and Q2 2026 earnings call. GTF aircraft: more than 2,600 against more than 1,700, about 900 more, 2,600 / 1,700 - 1 = 53%; operators 70 to over 90. Raytheon backlog 86 / 52 - 1 = 65% (December 2023 to June 2026); 86 / 28.043 = 3.1 years of 2025 sales. Total backlog 289 / 93.5 = 3.1 years of trailing sales. Pratt & Whitney share of backlog 151 / 268 = 56% (December 2025). Commercial share of backlog 170 / 289 = 59%; defence 119 / 289 = 41% (June 2026). Defence backlog 119 / 78 - 1 = 53% (December 2023 to June 2026). Government share of 2025 net sales (33,279 + 6,702 + 6,123) / 88,603 = 46,104 / 88,603 = 52%; foreign governments 6,702 + 6,123 = 12,825, 12,825 / 88,603 = 14.5%. — 2023-2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
    Method: Arithmetic on figures reported in RTX's Forms 10-K and 10-Q, earnings releases, earnings call and market data; operands shown in the source line.
  4. ReportedThe engine is fitted to three airframes: the Airbus A320neo family, the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E-Jets E2.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: the three segments and their products, the GTF family powering more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators, the F135 as sole-source engine on all F-35 variants, GTF Advantage certification, the IAE collaboration shares, employees (about 180,000 in 52 countries, 69% in the U.S.) and the divested businesses. — FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedWhen AirAsia ordered 150 A220s in the second quarter of 2026, management described them as "exclusively powered by GTF engines".
    RTX second-quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool) - Raytheon bookings and book-to-bill, GTF aircraft-on-ground and MRO output, munitions output, framework agreements, the defence budget request, GTF Advantage, Collins margin plans and segment outlook - commercial: GTF fleet, maintenance output, aftermarket, orders, Collins and the outlook. — Q2 2026 · publ. 24 July 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRTX's own risk factors describe the price of getting in: "substantial discounts and other financial incentives, performance and operating cost guarantees, and participation in financing arrangements, in order to secure both new engine business and the aftermarket revenues".
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1A risk factors: competition on price, delivery and technology; customers buying parts from suppliers other than the original equipment manufacturer; discounts and guarantees to win engine positions; new defence entrants; GTF durability; reputational harm; pension sensitivity to the discount rate; tariffs. — FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedThe GTF aftermarket network expanded to 21 facilities worldwide in 2025, increasing PW1100G-JM shop-visit output by about 26%.
    RTX Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1 business: the three segments and their products, the GTF family powering more than 2,600 aircraft for over 90 operators, the F135 as sole-source engine on all F-35 variants, GTF Advantage certification, the IAE collaboration shares, employees (about 180,000 in 52 countries, 69% in the U.S.) and the divested businesses. — FY2025 · publ. 6 February 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 28, 2026