3C engine in service with Malev has set a new world high-cycle single-aisle aircraft record for time on wing, logging 40,000 hours and 17,000 cycles without a single removal.
CFM56-3 engines are part of the best-selling CFM56 engine family, which is produced by CFM International (CFM), a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) of France and General Electric Company.
The engine was part of the original installation on a new Boeing 737-500 delivered to Hapag-Lloyd in December 1990; Malev has been leasing the aircraft since 1999. During its in-service life, the engine has undergone routine inspections but has remained trouble free. Hapag-Lloyd is a long-time CFM customer and operates 29 CFM56-7-powered 737-800 aircraft.
The Malev record is significant since engines powering single-aisle aircraft operate in very demanding conditions, with very high hours to cycles ratio (a cycle is defined as one takeoff and landing sequence). At its current utilization rate, the engine may well beat the current world record by August 2003. The record of 40,531 hours was set in 2000 by an engine powering an Icelandair 757 aircraft which had logged only 11,090 cycles.
Malev, based in Budapest, is the national carrier of Hungary and has been in operation for more than 50 years. The airline currently operates a fleet of 15 Boeing 737-300/-400/-500 aircraft powered by the CFM56-3 on routes throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. It will also introduce in its fleet, 10 737-700 powered by CFM56-7 engines this year and next year.