CFM expands Hyderabad capability
SpiceJet has finalized with Safran Group US$12 billion order for LEAP-1B engines to power 155 Boeing 737 MAX planes, along with spare engines to support the fleet.
CFM engines are manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between Safran and General Electric.
The deal was signed at the Indo-French Economic Partnership in New Delhi during French President Emmanuel Macron four-day visit to India from 9 March 2018.
The airline has also signed a ten-year Rate per Flight Hour (RPFH) agreement with CFM Services that covers all LEAP-1B engines powering SpiceJet’s 737 MAX planes.
RPFH agreements are part of CFM’s portfolio of flexible aftermarket support offerings.
Meanwhile, 10 years after it was officially opened, CFM International has expanded the capability of the CFM Training Center in Hyderabad to include both the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines as the fleet in India continues to grow.
“We built the Hyderabad CFM Training Center to fill a promise we made to our customers more than a decade ago and it has been a big success,” said Gaël Méheust, president and CEO of CFM International.
“To date, the Center has provided world-class line maintenance training for more than 1,300 students from airlines throughout the region,” he said.
The LEAP-1A entered service in India last February with Air India, who now operates a fleet of 15 A320neo airplanes.
Vistara followed in May 2017 and operates five LEAP-1A-powered A320neos.
Jet Airways will be the first airline in country to introduce the LEAP-1B-powered Boeing 737 MAX later this year.
There are currently a total of more than 600 CFM engines in service in India and Southern Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, power Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
This state-of-the-art training center represents an investment of more than US$15 million by CFM over the past decade, including initial start-up costs.
The CFM Training Center, which welcomed its first students on 8 March 2010, was the fourth such engine maintenance training center for CFM customers worldwide.
The Center has the capacity to train 500 engineers annually and mirrors those in China, France, and the United States.
The Training Center initially provided advanced hands-on courses in line maintenance and borescope inspection for CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B engines, which power Boeing Next-Generation 737 and Airbus A320 families aircraft, respectively.
In addition to Indian operators, the facility also provides training to students from such near-by regions as the Gulf states, the Middle East, and Far Eastern countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
CFM56 and LEAP engines are products of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.
CFM is the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, with more than 32,000 CFM56 engines delivered to date. fii-news.com
