CFM International has strengthened its market position in India with Air India recently finalising orders with the engine maker for over 800 LEAP engines to power its new fleet of 210 Airbus A320neo/ A321neo and 190 Boeing 737 MAX family jetliners.
Air India’s latest deal with CFM also includes a multi-year services agreement that will cover its entire LEAP engine fleet.
Campbell Wilson, CEO and Managing Director, Air India said the introduction on a greater scale of the LEAP engine as well as the services agreement will help the airline optimise its operations in terms of environmental footprint and operational cost.
Air India’s order for 800 LEAP engines includes 420 LEAP-1A, 380 LEAP-1B, plus spares and is CFM’s largest ever engine order. LEAP-1A engines are an engine option on Airbus’ A320neo aircraft family, which can also be ordered with Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine. The LEAP-1B engine, meanwhile, is the sole powerplant for Boeing’s 737 MAX jetliner. There are over 400 LEAP engines in service with Indian carriers today.
The Air India order is another testament to CFM’s success in India with the LEAP engine family, which has overcome initial competition from Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines. CFM has also benefited from orders by Akasa Air.
Go First’s highly publicised implosion for which the airline blamed woes related to its Pratt & Whitney GTF engines has also helped CFM. In Go First’s application for voluntary insolvency in May to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the airline stated that its fleet of grounded aircraft had increased from 31% in 2020 to more than 50% in April 2023.
23/07/2023 Atul Chandra/Mobility Outlook
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