EVENDALE, OHIO January 13, 2005 Jazeera Airways has selected the CFM56-5B to power four firm, four option Airbus A320 aircraft. The firm order is valued at about $45 million.
CFM56-5B engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) and General Electric Company. CFM, the world's leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, is the engine of choice for the Airbus A320 family, winning 57 percent of the orders in 2004. Jazeera, the new Kuwaiti carrier, is scheduled to begin operations in February 2005 with two leased A320s; the new firm aircraft will begin delivery in October of this year and continue through 2006. The privately owned airline will operate the A320s on routes throughout the Middle East, including Dubai, Bahrain, Amman, Damascus, Beirut, and Egypt.
"We are delighted to be working with Jazeera Airways," said Pierre Fabre, president and CEO of CFM International. "We are also honored it has made CFM such an integral part of its operations as they launch this exciting new venture."
"We also want to thank Jazeera Airways for being the first airline in the Middle East to purchase the CFM56-5B" added Zair Abderrahim, CFM vice president for Middle East and North Africa. The high reliability, long on-wing life, and low maintenance costs of the CFM56-5 make it extremely popular with major airlines, low-cost carriers, and leasing companies worldwide. More than 1,760 CFM56-5B engines have been delivered to date, and the fleet is growing at a rate of about 20 engines per month.
Primary factors behind the engine's broad-based market acceptance include this industry's best reliability, durability, and low cost of ownership brought about by the engine's simple, rugged architecture. The CFM56-5B is the only engine that can power every model of the A320 family, from the small A318 up to the A321, with the same bill of materials, giving airlines a significant commonality advantage.