Pratt & Whitney Canada, a unit of RTX, has settled a federal antitrust lawsuit accusing it of attempting to block competition in the market for used regional aircraft engines and replacement parts.
Universal Turbine Parts LLC told a federal court in Pennsylvania on Monday that it had reached a settlement with Pratt & Whitney Canada. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The lawsuit sought more than $150 million in damages.
RTX and Universal Turbine Parts did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged that Pratt & Whitney Canada unlawfully restricted access to used PT6 and PW100 turboprop engines, preventing independent sellers from acquiring and reselling the engines to regional aircraft operators and other customers. Pratt denied the allegations.
Universal Turbine Parts, an Alabama-based supplier of aftermarket aircraft engines and components, competes with Pratt & Whitney in the secondary market for engine sales and servicing.
According to the complaint, Pratt has manufactured more than 64,000 PT6 engines and about 8,000 PW100 engines, which Universal described as the largest installed base of aircraft engines in the United States and worldwide.
Universal alleged that Pratt violated U.S. antitrust law by prohibiting its approved overhaul facilities from selling engines and parts to independent resellers. The complaint said those restrictions limited competition and contributed to higher prices.
Pratt previously sought dismissal of the case, characterizing Universal Turbine Parts as “a private equity-owned middleman” dissatisfied with its market performance. Pratt argued that antitrust laws are intended to protect competition and consumers, not individual competitors.
The case is Universal Turbine Parts LLC v. Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp., No. 2:24-cv-02021, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Universal Turbine Parts is represented by Robert Milne and Bryan Gant of White & Case, Daniel Brockett and Jeremy Anderson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and Joseph Kohn of Kohn Swift & Graf. Pratt & Whitney Canada is represented by Ryan Shores and Heather Nyong’o of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Karma Giulianelli of Bartlit Beck, and Paul Saint Antoine of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.
