Air India has signed a major deal with CFM International for over 800 CFM LEAP engines to power its new fleet of Airbus A320/A321neos and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The deal includes a multi-year services agreement covering the entire fleet of LEAP engines, which will help optimize operations in terms of environmental impact and operational costs.
Commenting on the deal, Campbell Wilson, chief executive Air India said: “We are delighted to celebrate with CFM a major deal that will play a key role in our future development. The introduction on a greater scale of the LEAP engine as well as our services agreement will help us to optimise our operations in terms of environmental footprint and operational cost, while benefiting our customers.”
Gaël Méheust, president and chief executive, CFM International said: “Our presence in India and commits us to further support Air India’s development with the best CFM standards in terms of reliability, efficiency and customer support.”
Air India was the first LEAP-1A-powered operator in India when it started flying the Airbus A320neo aircraft in 2002. Currently, it has 27 LEAP-1A-powered A320neo family aircraft in its fleet.
According to CFM, LEAP engines provide 15 to 20% better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions, as well as a significant reduction in noise compared to previous generation engines. The type entered into service in 2016, and since then, the LEAP engine has allowed our customers to save more than 20 million tons of CO2 compared to the same flights operated using aircraft powered by previous-generation engines.
CFM also added that the LEAP engine family has achieved one of the fastest accumulation of flight hours in commercial aviation history, gaining more than 33 million engine flight hours and 15 million flight cycles.