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The deal also includes spare engines, GE reports.
CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation and the French engine manufacturer Snecma, announced today that the Qantas Group would purchase innovative LEAP-1A jet engines to power 78 new Airbus A320neo aircraft. The $2 billion deal (U.S. list price) also includes spare engines.
Today’s announcement takes total LEAP orders and commitments to more than 3,500 engines. In addition to the LEAP-1A being an option for the Airbus A320neo, the LEAP-1B is an exclusive engine for the new Boeing 737 MAX, and LEAP-1C for COMAC C919 planes.
“The LEAP engine was chosen for our new A32one0 aircraft because of its performance, fuel efficiency and maintenance program,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. Qantas has been using CFM engines with Boeing 737 planes for more than two decades, but this is the first time the airline ordered engines for its Airbus fleet.
LEAP is a high-bypass turbofan engine with an innovative composite fan blade design that increases strength while reducing weight. CFM engineers also developed a new way to transfer heat from the engine. The air passing through the LEAP engine is now much hotter than the melting point of the materials inside it. Because of the high temperatures, the engine burns less fuel, a process known as thermal efficiency.
The engine’s advanced design delivers as much as 15 percent higher fuel efficiency and a corresponding drop in emissions, while keeping maintenance costs down.
GE and Snecma, a member of the Safran Group, each hold a 50 percent stake in CFM. The new airplanes will begin delivery in 2016.
CFM scored a record year in 2011. The company’s orders reached $47.5 billion.