Air France-KLM has finalized an agreement with General Electric and has selected the GEnx-1B engine to power its fleet of Boeing 787-9. The first aircraft will be delivered to KLM in October 2015 and to Air France in January 2017. The joint selection of engine for Air France and KLM’s Boeing 787-9 enables the group to benefit from significant synergies.
The agreement also includes the signature of a partnership between General Electric and Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance on the maintenance of the GEnx engine.
Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, said: “We’re very pleased to have reached an agreement with General Electric for the GEnx engines to power our fleet of 787s. Its economic efficiency and environmental performance is a major asset to our fleet. Furthermore, this new partnership positions us as a major player in the maintenance of these new generation engines.”
David Joyce, President of GE declared: “Air France, KLM and GE have historically strong ties and we are proud to have been chosen to power the Air France-KLM Group 787. The GEnx will contribute to the success of the 787 with its performance and exceptional reliability.”
The GEnx-1B engine will contribute to the operational performance of the Boeing 787-9 as it contributes to the fuel consumption reduction and gives rise to a 15% reduction in the aircraft's CO2 emissions. The design of this engine also provides significant reduction in noise and NOx emissions, therefore ensuring in advance the compliance with standards to be implemented in the coming years.