SINGAPORE February 19, 2008 CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric and one of the most successful aircraft engine suppliers in history, has delivered the 18,000th CFM56 engine. At the current production rate, the 19,000th CFM56 engine will be delivered in 2008, as well.
The engine, a CFM56-5B, was delivered to Airbus on February 8th to be installed on an Airbus A320 aircraft that will be leased to China's Shenzhen Airlines.
"Eighteen thousand engines is an incredible milestone," said Eric Bachelet, president and CEO of CFM International. "We are certainly very proud of the products we bring to the industry, but we also know we owe the tremendous debt of gratitude to our nearly 500 customers around the world, as well as to Airbus and Boeing, for our continued success and we thank them all for their confidence in our people and in our products."
CFM has long-standing relationships with the two airplane manufacturers and each has made tremendous contributions to the company's long-term success. The first CFM56 engine, a CFM56-2, was delivered in 1982 to power a re-engined DC-8-71 airplane.
Today, the CFM56 product line includes six engine models spanning the thrust range from 18,500 to 34,000 pounds (82 to 151 kN) thrust. Commercial applications include Airbus A318, A319, A320, and A321 single-aisle aircraft, the long-range A340-200/-300, and the A319 Corporate Jet; and Boeing Classic 737-300/-400/-500, Next-Generation 737-600/-700/-800/-900, the Boeing Business Jet, and re-engined DC-8 Super 70 series aircraft.
The CFM56 fleet has logged nearly 400 million flight hours in service powering more than 7,200 commercial and military aircraft worldwide as the most reliable engines in the air.