By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp said on Thursday the company would not offer an engine for widebody planes anytime soon because of the difficult financial case for it.

United Tech's Pratt & Whitney unit is offering its new geared turbofan engine for smaller commercial airplanes, such as Airbus' popular A320neo narrowbody jet, and some industry watchers have wondered if Pratt would seek to scale it up for larger planes.

Speaking to reporters after the company's outlook meeting, new United Tech CEO Greg Hayes said that "technically, we can do it," but added: "We're not going to do a widebody engine anytime soon, unless we can figure out a way to make the economics a helluva lot better than what they are."

"We could afford an investment in widebody," Hayes said. "I think the drag on earnings would be significant for a number of years."

Typically, engine makers sell the engines at very low profit margins, while making that up in the maintenance and overhaul of those engines, known as the "aftermarket."

Widebody engines take off and land less frequently during a day than do engines for narrowbody planes, "so you're not stressing the engine," Hayes said.

"As a result, the aftermarket potential I think on narrowbody is much greater than what it is on the widebody," Hayes said.

"That's why our focus has been, let's not play on 787. We're not going to re-engine on the A380. And focus on the narrowbody where we think we can be successful," Hayes said.

During the meeting, the company said it was on track to certify the engine on the A320neo soon.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Ken Wills)