Delta Air Lines Selects CFM56-5B Engines for A321ceo Family

September 4, 2013

WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Delta Air Lines today announced that is has selected  CFM International’s CFM56-5B engine s to power 30 firm A321ceo (current engine option) aircraft.   The agreement is valued at more than $850 million U.S. at list price, including spare engines and a suite of material support agreements for the new fleet. 

The materials agreements provide for the comprehensive repair and replacement of life-limited and non-life limited parts for the CFM56-5B engines. The agreements also provide Delta with technical data for component repairs and engine overhaul to assist their operations.

"Delta's choice of CFM56-5B engines to support our new A321 aircraft is a logical extension of the CFM56 engines we operate on our existing A320-family aircraft," said Nat Pieper, Delta Vice President - Fleet Strategy & Transactions.  "The CFM56 offers the best combination of economic efficiency, reliability, and time on wing available in the marketplace."

Delta was actually CFM International’s first customer and launched the product into commercial service April 24, 1982 when it flew the very first McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71 aircraft powered by CFM56-2 engines on a flight between Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.  Today, Delta operates approximately 210 Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 family aircraft powered by CFM56 engines.  When today’s order is included, Delta has 130 additional CFM56-powered aircraft still to be delivered.

 “This is a fantastic vote of confidence for the entire CFM Team,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM.  “Delta was our first customer and it is highly gratifying that, more than 30 years later, CFM is still the engine of choice for their single-aisle operations.” 

“Delta continues to distinguish itself as one of the top airlines in the world and we are honored to have such a big part of this industry-leading team,” said Kevin McAllister, vice president of sales for CFM parent company GE Aviation.  “We have a solid partnership with Delta and we have every confidence that it will continue to expand and strengthen in the years to come.” 

 About CFM International

CFM56-5B engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. CFM, the world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, has delivered more than 25,000 engines to date. The CFM56-5B engine powers every model of the Airbus A320 family and has been chosen to power nearly 60 percent of all A320 aircraft in service or on order.

About Delta Air Lines

Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta Air Lines employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the Sky Team global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM.  Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights to 327 destinations in 63 countries on six continents.  The airline serves more than 160 million customers each year and was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World’s Most Admired Companies airline industry list. 

Jamie Jewell



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jamie.jewell@ge.com

Charles Soret



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charles.soret@safrangroup.com

Perry Bradley



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Talal Ahmed Almahmood


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talal.almahmood@gulfair.com