EVENDALE, OHIO, June 29, 2005 Iberia Airlines has announced that CFM56-5B engines will power its new fleet of 30 firm Airbus A320 family aircraft. The firm engine order is valued at more than $360 million at list price.
CFM56-5B engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric Company. CFM is the world's leading aircraft engine supplier, with more than 15,000 engines in service worldwide.
Iberia's newest order is for engines to power a mix of A318, A319, A320, and A321 aircraft. The CFM56-5B is the only engine that can power every model of the A320 family with the same bill of materials, giving Iberia a distinct commonality advantage in terms of training and provisioning. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2006 and continue through 2008; if all options are exercised, Iberia will take the final aircraft in this order in 2011. The new A320s, which will be incorporated into the airline's domestic and regional network, will join Iberia's current fleet of 79 CFM-powered A320s. The Spanish national carrier, which services more than 100 destinations in 41 countries worldwide, also operates 18 Airbus A340-300s powered by CFM56-5C engines.
The CFM56-5B's industry-leading reliability, durability, long on-wing life, and lower overall cost of ownership makes it extremely popular with leasing companies, low-cost carriers, and major airlines worldwide. More than 1,875 CFM56-5B engines have been delivered to date, and the fleet is growing at a rate of about 20 engines per month.
The CFM56-5B core served as the foundation for the development of the CFM56-7B, as well as for the new CFM56-5C/P engine for the Airbus A340 Enhanced aircraft. CFM used advanced three dimensional aerodynamic (3-D aero) design tools to give the 9-stage CFM56 high-pressure compressor better efficiency and improved aerodynamics. The high-pressure turbine also incorporates 3-D aero, active clearance control, and single-crystal N5 material in both the blades and the nozzles for improved durability, lower maintenance costs, and longer on-wing life. The low-pressure turbine incorporated 3-D airfoils for improved efficiency and fuel burn.
The CFM56-5B-powered A320 fleet currently in service has logged more than 19 million engine flight hours and 11 million cycles.