FARNBOROUGH July 17, 2006 CFM International has delivered the 4,000th CFM56-7B engine to Boeing Commercial Airplanes, paving the way for delivery of the 2,000th Next-Generation 737 aircraft to launch customer Southwest Airlines.
CFM International (CFM) is the 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric Company and one of the most successful aircraft engine suppliers in history.
The CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737-600/-700/-800/-900 fleet has achieved a remarkable 50 million engine flight hours in just eight years of revenue service with 160 operators worldwide -- the fastest accumulation of flight hours in commercial aviation history.
"The success of this program has been overwhelming," said Eric Bachelet, president and CEO of CFM International. "We are honored that Boeing and the airlines made us such an integral part of their team. Together, we've been able to develop and refine an airplane/engine combination that provides exceptional operating economics for our customers." The CFM56-7B brings the industry's most advanced technology to 737, giving customers dramatically lower operating costs while maintaining industry-leading performance, reliability, and operability. The aircraft's 99.96 percent dispatch reliability rate translates to less than one departure per 2,000 flights being delayed 15 minutes or more or canceled.
Overall, the CFM56-powered fleet has logged more than 325 million flight hours in service powering more than 6,330 commercial and military aircraft worldwide as the most reliable engines in the air.