SINGAPORE February 21, 2006 Indian, formerly known as Indian Airlines, has signed the final agreement with CFM International for the purchase of the CFM56-5B engine to power its new fleet of 43 A320 family aircraft scheduled for delivery between late 2006 and 2010. The engine order is valued at more than $500 million at list price.
CFM56-5B engines are produced by CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric Company.
Indian ordered the new batch of 43 aircraft as part of a fleet expansion and renewal program. The airline recently took delivery of leased CFM56-5B-powered A319s, making it the first A319 operator in India.
The CFM56-5B engines are rated at 23,500 lbs, 27,000 lbs and 32,000 lbs thrust respectively for the A319, A320 and A321. The engines are completely interchangeable providing maximum flexibility to Indian.
"We are extremely gratified that Indian has put its confidence in the CFM56-5B engine. We believe that the engines will bring high reliability and performance and we are extremely pleased to be such the engine partner of Indian" said Nam Tran, Regional Sales Director CFM International.