AirAsia Places US$8.6 billion CFM Engine Order

 In a special ceremony here, AirAsia announced that it has ordered additional CFM LEAP-1A engines and CFM56-5B engines to power the 100 Airbus A320 aircraft it ordered in a deal announced last December and signed a comprehensive long-term service agreement to support its fleet.

The order, which comprises LEAP-1A engines to power 64 A32neos and CFM56-5B engines to power 36 A320ceo aircraft along with 5 CFM-56B spare engines and 9 LEAP-1A spare engines, is valued at US$8.6 billion U.S. at list price, including a 20-year RPFH (Rate per Flight Hour) agreement, under the terms of which CFM will guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.

“We are pleased to expand our LEAP and CFM56 engine orders,” said Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia.  “CFM has been one of the elements that has helped power our growth over the last decade and we are happy to work with CFM to further strengthen AirAsia’s expansion plans.”

At the 2011 Paris Air Show, AirAsia announced what was at the time the largest engine order in history when it initially selected the LEAP-1A engine to power 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft.

“We love working with AirAsia and really appreciate their continued trust in CFM,” said Kevin McAllister, vice president of sales for CFM parent company GE Aviation. “We are looking forward to a great future with AirAsia and to working hard each day to prove to them that they have made the right choice.”

“This order is a great extension of a fantastic relationship,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM.  “The CFM philosophy of continually investing its products will reap real long-term benefits for AirAsia in both the CFM56-5B and the new LEAP engines.”

AirAsia, a pioneer in low-cost travel in Asia and the World’s Best Low Cost Airline for five consecutive years as awarded by Skytrax, has been a CFM customer for more than a decade.  As the single largest Airbus A320 operator in the Asia-Pacific region, AirAsia operates a fleet of more than 120 CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320s with more than 91 still to be delivered.  AirAsia began operations in 2001 and has continued to experience steady growth, today, the airline and its subsidiaries serve destinations in 20 countries throughout the region.

The foundation of the LEAP engine is heavily rooted in advanced aerodynamics, environmental, and materials technology development programs. It will provide 15 percent better fuel consumption and an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to today’s best CFM engine, along with a 50 percent reduction in oxides of nitrogen emissions, and up to a 15 decibel reduction in noise. All this technology brings with it CFM’s legendary reliability and low maintenance costs.

LEAP engines are a product of CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE and the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines.

Sourced: etravalbackboardasia