MINSK, Republic of Belarus October 15, 2003 Belavia, the national airline of Belarus, today took delivery of its first CFM56-powered aircraft. The airline is leasing a Boeing 737-500 with CFM56-3 engines from International Lease Finance Corporation as part of a fleet modernization program. The airline expects to add two additional 737 aircraft by mid-2004.
CFM56 engines are produced by CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) of France and General Electric Company.
The airline was formed in March 1996, and serves routes throughout Europe and CIS countries from its base in Minsk. Belavia plans to operate the 737-500 on its Moscow route. Other destinations include Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France, Israel, and Cyprus.
In September, a CFM56-3C engine established a new all-time world record for initial time on wing. Prior to its removal, the engine had logged 40,728 hours and 17,504 cycles without a single shop visit, surpassing the previous record of 40,531 hours set in 2000.
Overall, the CFM56-3-powered 737s in service have logged more than 126 million flight hours and 90 million cycles since the first airplanes were delivered in 1984. During this time, the CFM56-3 has consistently raised the standards for engine dependability and reliability. The fleet has a 99.98 percent dispatch reliability rate, which translates to less than one departure per 5,000 being delayed or cancelled for engine related issues.
The engine also maintains a .002 in-flight shutdown rate or one event every 500,000 flight hours; this aircraft logs between 2,500 to 3,500 flight hours per year. CFM shipped the last installed CFM56-3 in 1999 after a production run of more than 4,400 engines.