EVENDALE, OHIO February 4, 2005 Japan Airlines today announced that it will purchase 30 firm, 10 option CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737 aircraft scheduled to begin delivery in 2006. The firm engine order is valued at approximately $360 million at list price.
CFM56-7B engines are produced by CFM International (CFM), the world's leading transport aircraft engine supplier and a 50/50 joint company of Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) and General Electric Company.
"Japan Airlines is known worldwide for the technical excellence of its fleet and we are honored that it has again chosen CFM to power its single-aisle aircraft," said Kenji Uenishi, general manager of sales in Japan for CFM International. "This order validates CFM's strategy of developing highly reliable engines that bring the lowest cost of ownership in the industry. We are obviously delighted to extend our long working relationship with Japan Airlines."
Japan Airlines Group has been a CFM customer since 1993, and operates a fleet of 23 Boeing 737-400 airplanes powered by the CFM56-3 engine.
The CFM56-7B brings the industry's most advanced technology to the 737, providing low operating costs, high performance, high reliability, low noise and emissions and excellent operability. More than 1,600 aircraft have been delivered to date, and the fleet has accumulated more than 35 million flight hours and 18 million flight cycles while maintaining a 99.95 percent dispatch reliability rate. This rate translates to less than one departure per 2,000 flights being delayed 15 minutes or more or canceled for engine-related issues. The CFM56-7 also has one of the lowest in-flight shutdown rates in the industry: .002 per 1,000 hours. A rate of 0.002 means that a CFM56-7-powered 737 would experience an in-flight shutdown every 165 years on a statistical basis.
The CFM56-7-powered Boeing 737 was the first single-aisle airplane in its class to be granted 180-minute Extended Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS). ETOPS approval, which provides airlines greater route-scheduling flexibility such as long over-water flights, is based on engine/aircraft reliability.