Earlier this month CFM International delivered the 21,000th CFM56 engine as the company continues to maintain record production rates.
CFM has been producing more than 1,250 engines per year since 2007 and expects to maintain these rates at least through 2012. Through June 2010, the company had received firm orders for 495 commercial, military and spare engines and it maintains a backlog of approximately 5,300 engines, which represents four years of production.
"The continued success of the CFM56 program is phenomenal. At our current production rate, there is a CFM56 engine coming off the production line every four hours*," said Eric Bachelet, president and CEO of CFM International. "We are honored by the continued confidence airlines around the globe have shown in our products, selecting CFM56 engines to power more Airbus and Boeing single-aisle aircraft than any other engine in history."
CFM56 engines power the Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321, the A318 Elite and A319CJ, A320CJ, and A321CJ corporate jets and A340-200/-300 models and the Boeing Next-Generation 737-600/-700/-800/-900/-900ER and BBJ airplanes.
CFM is the 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE and one of the most successful aircraft engine suppliers in aviation history.