Hainan Airlines, China's fourth largest airline group, today announced that it is has selected CFM International's CFM56-5B engine to power 42 new Airbus A320 family aircraft. The entire agreement is valued at approximately $1.2 billion U.S. at list price, including the firm engine order and a long-term services and support agreement. The airline is scheduled to begin taking delivery in 2012.
To support the new CFM56-5B-powered A320 fleet, Hainan has also signed a long-term RPFH (Rate per Flight Hour) agreement with CFM to provide comprehensive engine maintenance service. Under the terms of this agreement, CFM will guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.
Hainan Airlines has been a CFM customer since the airline began operations in 1993, when it took delivery of its first Boeing 737 aircraft. Today, Hainan operates more than 85 Boeing 737-300/-400/-800 aircraft powered by CFM56-3 and CFM56-7 engines. The airline operates more than 500 domestic and international routes to about 90 cities throughout China, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
"We are honored that Hainan Airlines has chosen again to make CFM an important part of its long-term operations," said Eric Bachelet, President & CEO of CFM International. "We thank them for their trust and offer them our commitment that we will continue to earn that trust every day."
The high reliability, long on-wing life, and low maintenance costs of the CFM56-5B make it extremely popular with major airlines, low-cost carriers, and leasing companies worldwide. All of Hainan's new CFM56-5B engines are of the Tech Insertion configuration. This configuration was introduced in September 2007 and, through October 2010, the CFM56-5B fleet of more than 1,600 engines in service worldwide had logged more than seven million flight hours and four million flight cycles without a single engine-related event.
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 21,450 engines to date.