The world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, CFM International had one of the most successful years in its history in 1999, logging nearly 1,000 new engine orders at a value of about $5 billion.
CFM International (CFM) is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States.
"We had a record year in 1998 with orders for more than 1,300 engines and expected orders to slow dramatically last year," said Grard Laviec, president and CEO. "We felt if we could get half as many orders in 1999 as we did in 1998, it would be a successful year. It turned out to be the fourth best year in our history and, in fact, the fourth best year in the industry in terms of orders."
The CFM56-7 engine for the Boeing Next-Generation 737 was 1999's best seller, with more than 500 firm engine orders. More than 1,350 CFM56-7-powered aircraft are now on order with 89 customers. Nearly 330 CFM56-5 engines were ordered last year to power Airbus A320 family aircraft, maintaining the CFM56-5's position as the engine of choice for this aircraft.
The CFM56-5C-powered Airbus A340 experienced a resurgence in orders in 1999. The fleet grew 15 percent last year with 31 new A340s ordered. Lufthansa German Airlines purchased eight A340s, bringing its fleet to 39 aircraft. Both China Airlines and LanChile became new CFM56-5C customers, each ordering seven A340s.
Since the company's formation in 1974, CFM has won more than half the engine orders for commercial aircraft with a capacity of 100 passengers or more. Overall, CFM has received orders for about 13,600 engines from nearly 300 customers worldwide at a value of nearly $70 billion. There are currently 10,600 CFM56 engines in service.