EVENDALE, OHIO September 1, 2004 Azerbaijan Hava Yollari (AZAL) today announced the selection of CFM56-5B engines to power its new fleet of three Airbus A319s and one Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ). The engine order is valued $45 million at list price.
CFM56-5 engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) and General Electric Company.
The Azerbaijan flag carrier, based in Baku, will begin taking delivery of its new aircraft in 2005. This is the airline's first order for CFM56 engines.
The high reliability, long on-wing life, and low maintenance costs of the CFM56-5 makes it extremely popular with leasing companies, low-cost carriers, and major airlines worldwide. Nearly 1,700 CFM56-5B engines have been delivered to date, and the fleet is growing at a rate of about 20 engines per month.
Primary factors behind the engine's broad-based market acceptance include this industry's best reliability (with a 0.002 in-flight shutdown rate), durability, and low cost of ownership brought about by the engines simple, rugged architecture. CFM56-5 engines are averaging nearly 16,000 hours on wing prior to initial shop visit, and more than 10,000 hours after overhaul. No competing engine in this thrust class can match this record. On average, CFM56-5B engines have a maintenance cost advantages of nearly $2 million per engine over a 15-year period versus the competition.
The CFM56-5B is the only engine that can power every model of the A320 family keeping the same bill of materials, giving airlines a distinct commonality advantage. The CFM56-5B-powered A320 fleet currently in service has logged more than 15 million engine flight hours and nine million cycles.