To our 600+ operators for the trust you place in CFM – in our people and in our products – every single day. We have an amazing history together; a lot has happened in the past 50 years. Our promise to you for the next 50 is that CFM will always deliver the level of support and innovation that has earned that trust.
President & CEO CFM International
Generations
50 Years later
54 K
Engine orders
1.3+ BILLION
Flight hours
42+K
Engines delivered
31 K
Engines in service today
600+
Operators
50 Years of the power of flight
Key moments in the CFM history that made the company what it is today
1971
Gerhard Neumann of GE and René Ravaud of Snecma (now Safran Aircraft Engines) meet at the Paris Air Show and decide to work together on a 20,000-lb thrust engine program for the single-aisle market. The two companies met a few days later in Barbizon, France, to discuss the structure of the new company.
1974
GE and Snecma sign the agreement that formally establishes CFM International as a 50/50 joint company.
1979
United Airlines, along with Delta Airlines and Flying Tigers launches the CFM56-2 on the re-engined DC-8 Super 70 aircraft, just two weeks before the entire JV was set to be cancelled. The U.S. Air Force chooses to re-engine KC-135 tankers with CFM56-2 engines. The USAF is still CFM’s biggest customer.
1981
Boeing officially launches the 737-300 with the CFM56-3 as the sole powerplant.
1982
The first CFM56-powered aircraft, a DC-8 Super 70, begins commercial service on a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
1984
Airbus launches A320 with CFM56-5 engine.
1993
The CFM56-7B is launched as the sole engine for Boeing’s Next-Generation 737 by Southwest Airlines.
2008
CFM formally launches the LEAP engine for next-generation aircraft at the Farnborough Air Show.
2016
The first LEAP-powered aircraft, an Airbus A320neo, enters commercial service with Pegasus Airlines.
2021
GE Aerospace and Safran launched the CFM RISE (Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines) Program to develop disruptive technologies that will help the industry achieve net zero in carbon emissions by 2050.