The CFM56-5C engine reached a major milestone earlier this year when the 100th Airbus Industrie A340 was delivered to Singapore Airlines. The CFM56-5C, which is the highest-thrust CFM56 engine, is the sole powerplant for the long-range, wide-body aircraft currently in service with more than 20 airlines worldwide.
CFM56 engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States.
The first CFM56-5C-powered A340 was delivered to Lufthansa German Airlines in early 1993. Since that time, the aircraft has logged more than 3.5 million flight hours and established an impressive in-service record. In fact, about 20 percent of the currently installed CFM56-5C engines has logged more than 10,000 flight hours without a shop visit. Of that 20 percent, more than one third have exceeded 15,000 hours without a shop visit. The current time-on-wing fleet leaders, which have logged more than 18,600 hours to date, were part of the original shipset for the first A340 delivered to Lufthansa in 1993.
Overall, more than 225 firm and option CFM56-5C-powered A340 aircraft have been ordered to date.