Safran Nacelles delivers its 3,000th Airbus A320neo nacelle to Pegasus

Vincent Caro, Safran Nacelles' CEO, declared: "This delivery demonstrates both our commitment to our aircraft manufacturer and operator customers, but also our employees' know-how. In today’s competitive environment, Airbus can rely on our full support. They can count on our responsiveness with on-time deliveries at the highest quality standard."

Michael Enzinger, Airbus A320 Family Propulsion System procurement Vice President declared: “We recognize the excellent design of your product, but also the industrial excellence that goes with it. If you want to get an idea of how we do things right, the A320neo / LEAP-1A nacelle and the Safran Nacelles industrial sites are the perfect illustration. Quite simply, this is industrial excellence at its best!”

Safran Nacelles holds the responsibility for the design, production, integration and after-sales support of the A320neo nacelles powered by CFM International¹ LEAP-1A engines, in partnership with Middle River Aerostructure Systems². Safran Nacelles is committed to supporting Airbus on a daily basis in its ramp-ups by focusing on its industrial performance. The company has invested in optimising its production to deliver to the highest quality standards, at the expected rates. To this end, production processes were automated, Lean Six Sigma methodologies applied, and staff were trained. Safran Nacelles has installed over 20 robots and has developed an automated solution for non-destructive testing using infrared thermography coupled with augmented reality to ensure the quality of its composite material, whilst reducing inspection time by 50%.

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The integration of LEAP-1A propulsion systems: a close-collaboration activity with the aircraft manufacturers, providing them with peace of mind and flexibility

Less known than nacelle development and production activities, the integration of LEAP-1A propulsion systems is a key element in the aircraft manufacturer’s logistics chain. Safran Nacelles takes delivery of the LEAP-1A engines on which the final equipment (electrical harnesses, hydraulic and pneumatic supply ducts, etc. supplied by MRAS) and the air intake are assembled. At the same time, all nacelle components, i.e. the air intake, engine cowl, thrust reverser and exhaust nozzle, are painted in the airline colours. The nacelles are then assembled empty (without the engine) to ensure that the assembly meets the manufacturer’s specifications.

This activity are carried out close to the A320neo final assembly lines on Safran Nacelles’ integration sites in Toulouse, France, Hamburg, Germany, Mobile, USA and soon in Tianjin, China. Once the propulsion units have been receipted by Airbus and the airlines, they are delivered to the assembly line where the Safran Nacelles teams provide their support to Airbus to integrate the LEAP-1A engines and the nacelles under the wing of the aircraft.

By entrusting us with the integration of the A320neo propulsion assembly, Airbus is assured of having a complete assembly, close to its FALs, ready to be installed under the wing.

NacelleLife™: the tailor-made service offering dedicated to A320neo operators

Safran Nacelles can rely on its NacelleLife™ service offering to support operators’ A320neo fleets. The company has set up its four repair stations in France, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and China with trained personnel and tools to provide repair solutions, as close as possible to the customers and their A320neo nacelles. The company has also expanded its network of spare parts storage centres so they can be shipped to the customers as quickly as possible. Finally, a team of experts, empowered by their OEM experience, is available 24/7 to provide repair solutions in accordance with the certification requirements.

Recently, Safran Nacelles extended its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) network by licensing ST Engineering, Air France Industries KLM E&M and Lufthansa Technik to repair its A320neo / LEAP-1A nacelles. These major MRO players will be authorised to carry out maintenance activities certified by Safran Nacelles. With these partnerships, Safran Nacelles guarantees the Airbus A320neo operators repair solutions at the highest quality standards.

The best of Safran’s technologies on the nacelles of the A320neo, the world’s best-selling aircraft.

The nacelle of the A320neo is aerodynamic and lightweight owing to the use of the latest generation composite materials that make up 60% of the nacelle. They contribute to a 20% reduction in the LEAP-1A engine’s fuel consumption and therefore of its CO2 emissions compared to the previous generation of CFM56 engines.

It benefits from acoustic treatments that reduce engine noise emissions by 50%.

Its thrust reversion system, which is activated every 10 seconds by a pilot somewhere in the world, contributes to the braking of the aircraft and holds a reliability rate of 99.996%,

1. CFM International is a 50/50 joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and GE.
2. Middle River Aerostructure Systems (ST Engineering) is a partner of Safran Nacelles on the A320neo programme through, among other things, the supply of its thrust reverser mobile part (the “transcowl”) and its control system, and the LEAP-1A Engine build-Up (EBU).