FARNBOROUGH, England--(Business Wire)--
China Southern Airlines today announced that it has selected
CFM56-5B engines to power a new fleet of 20 Airbus A320 family
aircraft, and back the engine purchase with a long-term material
services agreement.
CFM56-5B engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint
company between Snecma (SAFRAN Group) and General Electric Company.
China Southern, one of the largest airlines operating in The
People's Republic of China, operates more than 600 domestic and
international routes. It is also the first Chinese airline and the
only one who is ranked as top five carriers in the world in terms of
volume of passenger traffic. The airline was one of CFM's first
customers in China and the airline has been operating CFM56 engines
for more than 20 years. The aircraft announced today, which will be
delivered between March 2009 and mid-2011, will nearly double the
airlines current CFM56-powered A320 fleet. China Southern also
operates 27 CFM56-3-powered 737 Classics as well as 71 Boeing
Next-Generation 737s. An additional 65 737NG are on order, with
deliveries scheduled through 2013.
"China Southern is a long-time CFM customer and we honored that an
airline of this caliber continues to put its trust in CFM56 engines,"
said Eric Bachelet, president and CEO of CFM.
China Southern's new CFM56-5B/3 engines will be the Tech Insertion
configuration, which incorporates advanced technologies to provide
operators with improved fuel burn and lower maintenance costs.
Compared to the base CFM56-5B engines already in the airline's fleet,
the Tech Insertion-powered fleet of 20 aircraft could save the airline
as much as 275,000 gallons of fuel each year, as well as significantly
lowering carbon emissions.
Improved analytic design tools enabled CFM to optimize the Tech
Insertion combustor so that it will provide 25 percent lower NOx
emissions, providing even grater margin to the new International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental
Protection emissions standards (CAEP /6 regulations) which took effect
in early 2008
The CFM56-5B is popular with major airlines, low-cost carriers,
and leasing companies alike. More than 3,150 CFM56-5B engines have
been delivered to date, and the fleet is growing at a rate of about 40
engines per month. Primary factors behind the engine's broad-based
acceptance include this industry's best reliability, durability, low
cost of ownership, and world-class customer and product support. The
CFM56-5B is the only engine that can power every model of the A320
family, from the small A318 up to the A321, with the same bill of
materials. For more information on CFM International, visit us at
www.cfm56.com.
GE
Jamie Jewell, 513-552-2790
Mobile: 513-885-2282
jamie.jewell@ge.com
Rick Kennedy, 513-243-3372
Mobile: 513-607-0609
rick.kennedy@ge.com
or
Antoinette Menard, 33.1.69.87.09.28
Mobile: 33.6.74.78.10.65
antoinette.menard@snecma.fr
Copyright Business Wire 2008
