In a special ceremony here today, Chinese flag carrier Air China finalized its order for CFM International's CFM56-5B engine to power 20 firm Airbus A320 aircraft. The engine order, originally announced at the Farnborough Air Show in July, is valued at approximately $300 million U.S. at list price.
Air China, which is scheduled to begin taking delivery of the new aircraft in 2011, is the largest commercial airline in China and has been a long-time CFM customer. In addition to the 20 A320s announced today, the airline's current fleet includes 55 Airbus A320 and 118 Boeing 737 family aircraft powered by CFM56-5B and CFM56-3/7B engines, respectively, as well as six long-range, four-engine Airbus A340-300 aircraft powered by the CFM56-5C.
"We are very pleased to continue our long relationship with CFM," He Li, Vice President of Air China noted when placing the order. "We already have a big CFM56-powered fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and the operating economics and the outstanding reliability of this engine have been enabling us save our costs and assure our customers of the very highest level of service that we can provide."