ANNOUNCED AT THE DUBAI AIR SHOW 13 NOVEMBER
DUBAI, U.A.E. - 13 November 2011 - Garuda Indonesia today announced that it has selected CFM International's CFM56-5B engines to power 15 standard Airbus A320 aircraft the airline ordered earlier this year. The airplanes, which will be operated by Citilink, Garuda's low-cost branch, are scheduled to begin delivery in 2014. The firm engine order is valued at approximately $270 million U.S. at list price.
"We have been very happy with the reliability and low cost of ownership that our other CFM56 engines have provided over the years," said Emirsyah Satar, president and CEO of Garuda Indonesia. "We are looking forward to welcoming the CFM56-5B to that portfolio. We think that the CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320 will allow Citilink to realize its full potential in the fast-growing budget market in Indonesia."
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. This is Garuda's first order for CFM-powered Airbus A320 family aircraft.
"It is an honor to welcome an old friend as a 'new' customer," said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. "The engine designation may be different, but the reliability, fuel efficiency, low maintenance costs, and world class support will be very familiar. In the CFM56-5B, Garuda will find the same CFM that they have trusted for decades in the past and can have full confidence that it will be the CFM can they can trust for decades in the future."
All of Garuda's new engines will be the CFM56-5B Performance Improvement Package (PIP) configuration. The -5B PIP completed extensive ground testing and more than 26 hours of flight testing on the A320. The engine, which is the new production configuration for the CFM56-5B, entered service earlier this month.
The improvements, which provide a 0.5% improvement in fuel burn, include hardware changes to the core, including new high-pressure turbine blade, as well as manufacturing changes the fan and compressor blades and vanes to improve performance retention. The engine will maintain the same noise signature as the current production engine. These engines also meet current International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection standards (CAEP /6) requirements.
CFM56-5B engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE. CFM, the world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, has delivered nearly 23,000 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 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.