LE BOURGET, France — The Qantas Group today finalized its order for CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine to power 78 Airbus A320neo aircraft currently on order. The first aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2016 and will support Jetstar-branded airlines, the low-fare subsidiary created by the Qantas Group.
The engine order, originally announced as a commitment in 2012, has a value of $2.0 billion U.S. at list price, including spare engines. This is included in Qantas’ existing capital expenditure forecasts.
CEO of the Qantas Group, Alan Joyce, said the LEAP engine had been chosen for its performance, fuel efficiency and maintenance program.
“We have been monitoring the LEAP development program over the past year and we are pleased with the progress,” said Mr Joyce. “We are confident that CFM will meet the performance, fuel efficiency and maintenance goals it has set for the LEAP engine, and will help unlock the kind of economics we expect from the A320neo,”
“We think that Qantas Group will be very pleased with the LEAP engine,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM. “We have another year of testing under our belts and we couldn’t be happier with where the program is right now. We believe that the results from our first full engine test later this year will validate that, like our last 21 engines, LEAP engines will deliver on our commitments.”
“The Qantas Group continues to set itself apart,” said Kevin McAllister, vice president of sales for CFM parent company GE Aviation. “We can’t wait to get the LEAP engine into this fleet so it can start delivering the kind of reliability and lifecycle costs that made the CFM56 family legendary.”
The Jetstar Group is one of Asia Pacific’s fastest growing and largest low fares network by revenue, with airlines in Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand and (subject to regulatory approval) Hong Kong. It operates up to 3,000 flights a week to almost 60 destinations, including 30 in Asia and eight in Greater China. The Jetstar Group carried around 20 million people in fiscal year 2012.
The foundation of the LEAP engine is heavily rooted in advanced aerodynamics and materials technology development programs. The engine is designed to 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 75 percent reduction in the engines noise footprint. 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 largest supplier of commercial aircraft engines. To date, more than 25,000 CFM56 engines have been delivered to more than 500 operators around the globe. This fleet has logged more than 635 million flight hours as the most reliable engines in the air.
About Qantas Group
Founded in the Queensland outback in 1920, Qantas has grown to be Australia's largest domestic and international airline. Registered originally as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited (QANTAS), Qantas is widely regarded as the world's leading long distance airline and one of the strongest brands in Australia. The Qantas Group's main business is the transportation of customers using two complementary airline brands – Qantas and Jetstar. The Jetstar Group is a network of value based carriers providing all day, every day low fares across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region.