cost carrier, SpiceJet, today announced the purchase of 10 firm, 10 options CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The engine order is valued at approximately $120 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.
New Delhi-based SpiceJet, which is set to begin operation in May, will begin taking delivery of the first aircraft in December of this year. In the meantime, the airline plans to lease as many as five additional 737-800s.
"My previous experience with CFM has been very good," said Roger Page, executive vice president of Engineering for SpiceJet. "CFM's advanced fan technology is well suited to Indian conditions and will meet operational expectations well. The engine also has a proven track record for reliability and service, which is very important to us."
"We are extremely pleased to welcome SpiceJet as our newest customer in India," said Nam Tran, regional sales director for CFM. "The high reliability of the CFM56-7B engine fits well with the high frequency, high utilization operations SpiceJet has planned."
The CFM56-7B brings the industry's most advanced technology to the 737 and is ideally suited to low-cost operators such as SpiceJet, 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. The rate is equivalent to one engine-caused in-flight shutdown every 500,000 flight hours. On a statistical basis, with a typical annual 737 utilization of about 3,000 hours, this rate would equate to one in-flight shutdown event every 165 years.
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.