Gulf Air CFM56-5 Fleet Logs One Million Flight Hours

April 30, 2001

Gulf Air's fleet of CFM56-5-powered Airbus A320 and A340 aircraft has achieved a significant milestone, logging one million flight hours since the first aircraft was delivered in 1992.

CFM56-5 engines are produced by CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi (UAE) is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious airlines. In its 50+ year history, it has grown from a small-scale commuter service provider to a major international airline. Gulf Air took delivery of its first CFM56-5A-powered Airbus A320 in 1992 and today operates a fleet of 12 aircraft on its routes throughout the Middle East. In 1994, the airline introduced the long-range, four-engine Airbus A340-300 powered by the CFM56-5C engine. The five A340s currently in service are operated on routes to Europe, Africa, and the Asia Pacific Region and Australia.

"We are very happy to be sharing this milestone with Gulf Air," said Gerard Laviec, president and CEO of CFM International. "It is highly gratifying when an airline with such an exemplary reputation for quality puts its trust in your products. We have developed a strong relationship with this airline over the past 10 years, and we look forward to the next 10 with great anticipation. The entire CFM Team sends its warmest congratulations to everyone at Gulf Air."

Despite the rather severe environment in which they must operate, CFM56 engines have performed well in Gulf Air's fleet. The A320 fleet, which has logged 573,550 engine hours and 455,080 engine cycles, maintains a 99.91 percent departure reliability rate and a low 0.0150 shop visit rate. At the same time, the A340 fleet has logged 492,848 hours and 115,852 cycles with a 99.73 percent departure reliability rate and an 0.111 shop visit rate.

The CFM56 engine family includes six engine models that range from 18,500 to 34,000 pounds takeoff thrust and power 29 commercial and military applications. The first CFM56 engine was delivered in 1982. Today, there are nearly 12,000 CFM56 engines in service with more than 330 customers in 100 countries. This fleet has logged nearly 170 million flight hours and more than 100 million flight cycles as the most reliable engines in the air. The commercial fleet maintains a 99.97 percent dispatch reliability rate, a .003 in-flight shutdown rate, and a .065 shop visit rate.

Jamie Jewell



Mobile:
+1 513.885.2282

jamie.jewell@ge.com

Charles Soret



Mobile:
+33 (0)6.31.60.96.79

charles.soret@safrangroup.com

Perry Bradley



Mobile:
+1 513 375 2597

perry.bradley@ge.com

Talal Ahmed Almahmood


+973 173 3819


talal.almahmood@gulfair.com