At Christchurch, a 14,000sq m expansion of the already vast engine centre will allow hundreds more staff to work on them using some of the most advanced aircraft engineering equipment used anywhere in the world.
A 4000sq m sound-proofed test cell facility is at the heart of the expansion and within it engines can be run at maximum thrust to test performance parameters in a safe environment.
The engines are monitored for any problems and, if necessary, they can then be repaired.
The Christchurch Engine Centre general manager and a proud Cantabrian, Graham Jack says the expansion is a significant milestone for the plant, situated at Christchurch Airport. He says it’s a vote of confidence in what can be achieved in the city and Canterbury region.
The centre has also overhauled more than 1500 of another highly popular aircraft engine, the V2500, during the last 25 years.
“We’ve been extremely successful with the V2500 and have built a really strong reputation internationally as a successful and strong engine shop,” Jack says.
Stellar reputation
Christchurch competes against other engine shops overseas but consistently tops global rankings for customer satisfaction.
It has adopted artificial intelligence to boost the quality of the inspection, in addition to traditional monitoring by staff.
“That’s really about adding a greater quality to the inspection,” explains Jack.
In the highly competitive commercial aviation aftermarket services, airlines choose maintenance providers based on variables including turnaround time, as each day an engine spends off the wing costs an operator thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
Other variables are quality, reliability and the total cost of ownership – optimising component repairs over part replacements.
Pratt & Whitney says Christchurch consistently tops all three, maintaining a global customer base against intense competition because its regional workforce has pioneered advanced component repair techniques, allowing technicians to repair complex, high-stress turbine and compressor components, delivering significant cost savings to engine operators.
That’s recognised internationally and at home with the Christchurch Engine Centre netting a prestigious Westpac Champion Business award several times in Canterbury.
Jack says staff don’t take having the centre in Christchurch for granted.
“We take tremendous pride in what we do, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to have a business like this here in Canterbury.”
The biggest single V2500 customer is American Airlines, but engines are shipped in by specialised freighters from other carriers in Asia and South America.
Hiring drive
The coming GTF work means the centre is in the midst of a hiring drive.
The expansion will add at least another 200 roles to the 350-400 staff working there when the project was first announced in late 2024.
Jack says hiring is “flat out”, with new recruits coming from aviation engineering programmes (including one run by Air NZ), and other countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Europe and South Africa.
“I think we’re very fortunate to be in Christchurch and New Zealand. A lot of people want to come here as it’s an attractive place to live and work.”
Jack says there’s a new energy about Christchurch. He takes pride in showing international visitors around.
“There’s a real buzz about around the place, which is clearly good for what we’re trying to achieve.”
The centre also recruits those with allied skills – such as automotive and diesel mechanics – who have successfully made the transition to aircraft engine maintenance. Additionally, it runs its own highly sought-after annual apprenticeship programme. These structured placements expose young regional trainees to multiple disciplines, including precision machining, component inspection, advanced aeronautics, and systems engineering.
One recruit, Caitlin Bell, joined the facility as an aircraft tradesperson after realising her passion lay in complex, hands-on industrial problem-solving.
After completing her two-year apprenticeship pulling apart and reassembling massive commercial turbofans, she went on to win the highly coveted Royal Aeronautical Society Excellence Trophy.
Aircraft tradesperson Caitlin Bell. Photo / Neil Macbeth
Another worker, Geoff Winter, who is a quality assurance systems and audit engineer, has worked there for more than 20 years and was on-site when the joint venture with Air NZ came into effect.
“I’ve had so many opportunities come my way, which keeps things challenging and fresh,” Winter says. “It’s been fantastic to see the company grow, see it develop and diversify.
“The best thing about it, though, is the local team. A lot of great people work here, all with ideas, innovations and challenges that change your thinking and lead us to continuously innovate,” says Winter. “I’m very proud of the work we do here in Christchurch.”
I think we’re very fortunate to be in Christchurch. A lot of people want to come here as it’s an attractive place to live and work. There’s a real buzz about around the place, which is clearly good for what we’re trying to achieve.
Graham Jack
From rugby to engines
Jack’s own career has also grown with the engine centre, which he describes as the second “amazing” Canterbury organisation he’s been involved with. He was also a Crusaders lock during the side’s first victorious Super Rugby season in 1998, in what was then the Super 12.
He’s been at the centre for 30 years, starting as a tradesman on the shop floor and then benefiting from Pratt & Whitney’s employee scholar scheme to have degree-type study paid for.
All staff are part of the Pratt & Whitney in-house work system, CORE (customer-oriented results and excellence), which ensures consistency across the global workforce of 180,000.
“I’ve built a great career here. That’s a familiar story for many of the people who have worked here.”
Pratt & Whitney says the choice of Christchurch is “highly strategic”, with Asia-Pacific forecast to experience the fastest aviation growth. An Airbus forecast until 2045 projects passenger growth in this region of 4.4% annually (compared to 3.9% globally) and much of this expansion requires narrow-body planes that are fitted with the engines that go through the Christchurch centre.
“By embedding Christchurch with the global GTF MRO network, Pratt & Whitney and Air New Zealand have effectively ensured that the city will remain an indispensable anchor of the international aviation supply chain for the next 30 to 40 years,’’ the engine maker says.
Christchurch Engine Centre test cell for V2500 engines.
Christchurch Engine Centre expansion
Financial investment: $250 millionPhysical footprint: 14,000sq m capacity boostLocal employment: 200 new high-value technical jobsTarget performance: Up to 140 GTF engine overhauls a yearFirst engine in-gate: Q4 2026Full-scale throughput: Expected by 2032
What the expansion entails
The Christchurch Engine Centre is on the cusp of securing its future as a key part of the international aviation supply chain for the next 30 to 40 years.
Work on the first geared turbofan (GTF) engine is about to begin later this year.
By the time the expanded facility reaches maturity in 2032 it will have the capacity for full overhauls of up to 140 GTF engines a year.
“With this investment and the skills that come with it, we have a really good future for engine maintenance here in Christchurch for many years to come,” says Jack.
Local companies and specialised services are also involved in building the expanded facility generating millions of dollars in direct spending each year.
As at the middle of 2026, more than 14,000 GTF engine orders and commitments have been placed with Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney by more than 90 customers worldwide.
The design leap of the new engines means they reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions by up to 20% and their noise footprint is up to 75% less than the engines they replace.
Around the world, GTF engines have, in their first 10 years of service, saved airlines more than three billion gallons of fuel (11 billion litres) and 30 million metric tons of carbon emissions, Pratt & Whitney says.
The advanced fan drive gear system allows the front fan to spin at an optimal slower speed than the internal compressor and turbine cores.
Jack says more than 90% of the centre’s current work comes from overseas (with the remainder for Air NZ) and this ratio was likely to remain the same with the GTF engines.
Global Aviation’s Southern Anchor
The Christchurch Engine Centre is being built for the future on deep, historic foundations.
Established originally by Air New Zealand’s predecessor, the National Airways Corporation (NAC), the Harewood site was chosen in 1948 to service the rugged radial engines of a post-war aviation boom.
Technicians initially worked on Pratt & Whitney piston models that required them to rely on immense mechanical intuition. This laid a foundational culture of precision, manual grit, and uncompromising safety standards within the local workforce.
As commercial aviation transitioned into the jet age, the facility rapidly evolved and, in 1958, the centre overhauled its first Dart turboprop engine, followed a decade later by the introduction of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D commercial turbofan in 1968 – work that carried on until 2012. The JT8D was used first on the Boeing 727 trijet.
It went on to power such aircraft as the Aerospatiale SE210 Caravelle, Boeing 737-100/-200, Douglas Corporation DC-9, McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and the Christchurch centre overhauled FedEx’s global cargo fleets.
The engineering cell matured from a domestic maintenance shop into a highly respected regional centre of excellence.
Navigating an increasingly competitive and globalised aerospace market required a massive leap in scale and structural capitalisation.
The turning point that catapulted Christchurch on to the global aerospace map occurred in 2001.
Recognising that future growth required integration with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Air New Zealand entered into a formal joint venture partnership with Pratt & Whitney, which took a 51% controlling stake alongside Air New Zealand’s 49%. It has helped diversify the airline’s earnings.
Air New Zealand’s latest annual report shows its after-tax earnings from the engine centre were $38m for the latest financial year, up from $35m in 2025.
Jack says the engine centre’s board is composed of two directors, appointed by each of the partners.
The immediate outcome of this partnership was the construction and opening of a state-of-the-art V2500 engine facility and test cell in 2004, with the first V2500 engine overhaul completed the following year. The V2500 turbofan, managed by the International Aero Engines (IAE) consortium, quickly emerged as the engine of choice for the single aisle Airbus A320ceo family—now the backbone of more than 120 short-to-medium-haul passenger airlines worldwide.
When Christchurch City Holdings Ltd announced a $20m investment in the centre expansion back in 2003, it was then estimated it would contribute an additional $30.8m into the Canterbury economy a year.
Pratt & Whitney says that in 2014, the centre achieved massive gains in efficiency, setting international benchmarks for engine teardown, component repair, reassembly and testing.
By the time the joint venture celebrated its milestone 20-year anniversary in 2021 Pratt & Whitney says it was routinely scoring near-perfect marks in international customer satisfaction metrics across operational delivery, technical engineering and quality assurance.
Pratt & Whitney is a sponsor of the Herald’s Project Canterbury report.