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EVENDALE, OH -- Air India has ordered GE engines valued at more than $2.2 billion at list price to power its new Boeing 777 and 787 fleets. The agreement was signed today at Asian Aerospace between Mrs. Sulekha Shrivastava, Southeast Asia Regional Manager for Air India, and David Joyce, Vice President of GE - Aviation`s Commercial Engine Operation.
The airline has ordered eight 777-200LRs and 15 777-300ERs, all powered by the GE90-115B engine.
In addition, Air India ordered 27 787-8 aircraft powered by the GEnx engine. The GEnx is the best-selling engine on the 787 aircraft.
Delivery of the 777s is scheduled to begin in 2007, with the 787 deliveries to begin in 2008.
"Air India is one of the region`s leading airlines, and we are thrilled to be part of its major fleet modernization," said Scott Donnelly, President, GE - Aviation. "Our GE90-115B engines have performed extremely well since entering service last year, and we anticipate the GEnx engine to experience similar results when it enters service."
Mr. V. Thulasidas, Chairman and Managing Director of Air India said, "The order of 50 Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft all powered by GE engines marks a major expansion of Air India`s fleet.
This along with the Boeing 737-800 aircraft for Air India Express, the budget airline, is the largest order for aircraft so far in India. We are excited at the prospect of the fuel efficiency and performance of the GE engines that Air India hopes to gain from."
The GE90-115B is certified at an unprecedented 115,000 pounds (512 kN) thrust as the powerplant for Boeing`s 777-300ER, 777-200LR, and the upcoming 777 freighter. More than 225 GE90 engines were ordered in 2005 -- the best sales year ever for the engine.
Snecma of France, Avio SpA. of Italy, and IHI of Japan are revenue-sharing participants in the GE90 program.
The GEnx is based on the architecture of the highly successful GE90. It will succeed the CF6 engine family, which is GE`s most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft.
The GEnx provides significantly better fuel burn and payload performance than GE`s CF6 engines. It is the world`s only jet engine with a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provides for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed remarkably well on GE90 engines, with no in-service issues for almost a decade.
The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine currently in service. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower NOx levels.
Testing on the GEnx engine is scheduled to start in early 2006, with engine certification planned for 3rd quarter 2007 and entry into service on the Boeing 787 scheduled for 2008. (ends)
Jet Airways Orders CF6 Engines for New Airbus Fleet
(Source: GE Aircraft Engines; issued Feb.
21, 2006)
EVENDALE, OH --- India`s Jet Airways has selected GE`s CF6-80E1 engines to power its 10 Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The value of the engine order is more than $300 million. The airline is scheduled to begin taking delivery of the new aircraft in 2007.
"We are very excited that Jet Airways has selected GE`s CF6 engines as the powerplant for its new A330 aircraft," said Scott Donnelly, President and CEO of GE - Aviation. "Jet Airways is an important customer to GE, and this order further strengthens our relationship."
"Jet Airways has selected the GE`s CF6-80E1 engines after an in-depth technical and economic evaluation of the available options," said Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways.
"We have been a satisfied customer of GE since we commenced operations with our B737 fleet."
Based in Mumbai, India, Jet Airways has one of the youngest fleets in the world. The airline currently operates a fleet of 42 CFM56-powered Classic and Next-Generation Boeing 737 aircraft as well as three A340 aircraft. CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma of France and GE, produces the CFM56 engine. At the 2005 Paris Air Show, Jet Airways also ordered 10 GE90-115B-powered 777-300ER aircraft.
GE`s CF6 engine family has been the most reliable and best-selling commercial engine on wide-body aircraft.
CF6 engines have flown more than 115 million hours, which is more than any other high-bypass turbofan engine family. The engine powers more than 10 models of wide-body aircraft. In recent years, the engine family has also played a major role in military aviation, powering transports, tankers and surveillance aircraft.
GE - Aviation business, an operating unit of General Electric Company, is one of the world`s leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. GE also is a global provider of maintenance and support services for operators of GE jet engines.
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