Garuda Indonesia, Indonesia's national airline, and CFM International today finalized a long-term support agreement covering the airline's fleet of the CFM56-7B engines powering 63 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Under the terms of the 15-year Rate Per Flight Hour (RPFH) contract, valued at approximately $500 million U.S. over the life of the agreement, CFM will provide comprehensive engine maintenance service and guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.
When signing the initial Memorandum of Understanding for this agreement, Garuda Indonesia president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, noted: "This partnership is a concrete manifestation of long-term support for Garuda and for our fleet revitalization program ... and shows the trust and appreciation that CFM and its parent companies, GE and Snecma, have for our airline, as well as their whole-hearted support of our successful turn-around and business transformation. This partnership will also bring benefit to the Garuda fleet by having a high quality standard for engine performance and efficient operation through predictive maintenance costs."
As part of the contract, CFM and Garuda's Maintenance arm, GMF Aero Asia will jointly develop overhaul capability for the CFM56-7B engine. Once capable, Garuda's CFM56-7B engine overhauls will be undertaken by GMF as part of the RPFH agreement. The development of CFM56-7B overhaul capability by GMF and CFM will increase the competency of the Indonesian aviation industry in supporting the country's significant domestic air transportation growth.
"We are very pleased to sign such a far-reaching agreement with Garuda," said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. "Not only does it bring the inherent benefits of genuine CFM parts to Garuda's fleet, it also represents a long-term investment in high-quality, highly-skilled MRO facilities in Southeast Asia to support the tremendous growth this region will continue to experience"
Garuda Indonesia is a long-time CFM customer and began operating the CFM56-3-powered Boeing 737-300 in the late 1990s. Today, the airline's fleet includes approximately 75 CFM-powered 737 aircraft in service or on order. The airline operates 89 new modern aircraft; and serves 32 domestic and 17 international destinations including Asia (China and Japan), Australia, the Middle East, and Europe (Amsterdam). By 2015, the airline will operate a fleet of more than 154 aircraft.
About Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia is an IOSA Certified Airline with 4-star airline category. Recognized as World's Most Improved Airline in the 2010, in World Airline Awards in Hamburg by Skytrax, Garuda Indonesia also awarded "Turn Around Airline of the Year 2010" in October 2010 from the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), based in Sydney.
The airline is undergoing an aggressive 5-year expansion and modernization plan known as the 'Quantum Leap' involving a significant fleet upgrade and image-overhaul including changing the airline's livery, staff uniforms and logo.
In line with Garuda Indonesia's ongoing fleet development, in 2011 it expects the arrival of eleven new aircraft, consisting of two Airbus A330-200s and nine Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 Next Generation aircraft. In 2010, Garuda took delivery of 24 new aircraft, consisting of twenty-three Boeing Next-Generation 738-800s and one Airbus A330-200.
About CFM International
CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE and is the world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines. Since the company was formed in 1974, it has delivered nearly 23,000 aircraft to more than 500 operators around the globe. The CFM56 product line has long held the reputation as the most reliable, cost-efficient engines in the air.