WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Pegasus Airlines has selected CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine to power its new fleet of 75 firm, 25 option A320neo/A321neo aircraft. The airplane order was announced in December 2012 and the airline is scheduled to begin taking delivery of the aircraft in 2016.
The Istanbul-based low cost airline has been a CFM customer since it began operations in 1990. Today, the airline operates a fleet of 43 CFM-powered Boeing 737 aircraft on scheduled routes to 72 domestic and international destinations throughout Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa.
“We chose the LEAP-1A engine after an exhaustive technical evaluation,” said Mr Sertac Haybat, CEO of Pegasus Airlines. “We know from more than 20 years of experience the kind of world-class support CFM provides, but we have been extremely impressed with the level of technology they are bringing to this new engine. The fuel efficiency, environmental characteristics, and cost of ownership make it the right engine for our fleet.”
"We are delighted that Pegasus has chosen to keep CFM as its engine provider of choice,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president & CEO of CFM International. “We are building on a 20+-year relationship and are excited to bring the LEAP engine to this fleet.”
“All customer orders are important, but this win is particularly gratifying,” said Gael Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM. “Pegasus’s selection of the LEAP-1A engine after such an incredibly thorough technical evaluation reinforces the architecture and technology choices we have made.”
The foundation of the LEAP engine is heavily rooted in advanced aerodynamics, environmental, and materials technology development programs. It will provide 15 percent better fuel consumption and an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to today’s best CFM engine, along with a 50 percent reduction in oxides of nitrogen emissions, and up to a 15 decibel reduction in noise. All this technology brings with it CFM’s legendary reliability and low maintenance costs.
About CFM
LEAP engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE and the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines. The company has delivered more than 25,000 engines to more than 530 operators around the globe. The CFM56 fleet has logged more than 635 million flight hours in the past 30 years as the most reliable engines in the air.
About Pegasus Airlines (www.flypgs.com)
Pegasus joined the airline sector with the launch of its charter flights in 1990 and has been owned by ESAS Holding since 2005. It is Turkey's leading low-cost carrier offering economically priced flights on short and medium-haul routes. Working to the brief that everyone has the right to fly, Pegasus offers its guests great value, on-time flights and the newest aircraft under the auspices of its low-cost model. Pegasus flies a scheduled service to 42 international destinations and 29 destinations within Turkey, taking its guests to 71 destinations in 29 countries.
Continuously expanding, Pegasus was named “the fastest growing airline” of Europe's 25 largest airlines in terms of seat capacity for both 2011 and 2012 by the Official Airline Guide (OAG). In 2012 Pegasus made the single largest-ever aircraft order in Turkish civil aviation history of approximately US$12 billion (list price) for 100 new Airbus aircraft, of which 25 are optional. On 26 April 2013, Pegasus Airlines listed 34.5% of its stock on the Istanbul Stock Exchange with a public offering and began trading with the code 'PGSUS'.