International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) has expanded its order for CFM International’s LEAP-1A engines to power an additional 20 A320neo Family aircraft, bringing the total of its LEAP-powered A320neo Family aircraft to 60.
The aircraft are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2016. This newest engine order is valued at $510 million at list price.
“Expanding our order for the LEAP engines to power more of ILFC’s Airbus A320neo Family aircraft is a reflection of our company’s long-standing commitment to providing our global customers with a choice of the industry’s most technologically advanced products,” said ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron. “CFM is our largest aircraft engine supplier, and we continue to look to the manufacturer’s future engine generation for advancements in new technologies that offer operational and economic efficiencies for our customers’ fleets.”
“This order is a continuation of what has already been a phenomenally good relationship,” said Kevin McAllister, Vice President of Sales for CFM parent company GE Aviation. “We are excited to bring all of the benefits of LEAP technology ─ double-digit improvements in fuel burn, noise, and carbon and NOx emissions with CFM reliability ─ to ILFC and its customers.”
“We believe these engines will prove to be real assets for ILFC and its lessees,” said President and Chief Executive Officer of CFM International Jean-Paul Ebanga. “The more testing we do, the more confident we become that the LEAP family is a more than worthy successor to the CFM56 engines and will become a critical part of airline fleets around the globe.”
CFM International (CFM) has set aggressive technical targets for the LEAP program and testing to date confirms that the engine is meeting those goals. Compared to today’s best engines, LEAP engines are expected to provide ILFC customers with 15 percent better fuel efficiency, which equates to an equal reduction in CO2 emissions; a 50 percent margin compared to today’s oxides of nitrogen (NOx) requirements; and meet the newly announced 2018 ICAO noise requirements with significant margin, all with CFM’s legendary reliability and comparable maintenance costs.