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AirAsia places $2.7 billion CFM LEAP engine order to power new Airbus A321neo Aircraft
LONDON, England — 13 July 2016 – In a special ceremony here today, AirAsia announced that it has ordered 200 additional CFM International LEAP-1A engines to power 100 new Airbus A321neo announced yesterday. The order, which expands its LEAP engine fleet to nearly 730 engines, is valued at $2.7 billion U.S. at list price.
“This order for the larger A321neo is an important element in our long-term growth and expansion strategy,” said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Group. ““Choosing the right engine to power them is critical to the success of that strategy. For us, the LEAP-1A was the obvious choice. This engine has demonstrated the promised 15 percent fuel efficiency and we are quite familiar with the reliability inherent in CFM products and the impact that this has on our operations.”
AirAsia, a pioneer in low-cost travel, has been a CFM customer for more than a decade. AirAsia was an early LEAP customer and placed its initial order for 400 LEAP-1A engines — the largest in aviation history at the time — to power A320neo aircraft in June 2011. The airline placed a follow-on order for 128 additional engines in 2013.
As the single largest Airbus A320 operator in the Asia-Pacific region, AirAsia operates a fleet of 170 CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320s with 304 still to be delivered. AirAsia began operations in 2001 and has continued to see steady growth. Today, the airline and its subsidiaries operate close to 1,000 flights per day to more than 120 destinations in 24 countries.
“We believe there is no greater endorsement of the technology choices we have made for the LEAP engine than the continued confidence of an airline such as AirAsia,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “We are looking proving to them every that they have made the right choice.”
“We love working with AirAsia and can’t wait to get the LEAP-1A into their fleet later this year,” said Chaker Chahrour, vice president of global sales and marketing for CFM parent company GE Aviation. “In many ways, AirAsia and CFM has grown up together in the past 25 years and we are honored to be part of one of the most dynamic, successful teams in the industry today.”
The LEAP-1A engine powered the first flight of the Airbus A321neo in February 2016. The engine is on track for entry into service in mid-2016 on the initial A320neo and will provide operators with a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, with an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions; a 50 percent margin to new emissions regulations; a dramatically lower noise signature; and CFM’s industry-leading reliability and low overall operating costs.
About AirAsia
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with over 100 destinations. Within 15 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 330 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 170. The airline is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and India, servicing a network stretching across Asia Pacific. AirAsia has been named the World’s Best Low Cost Airline at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards for eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016. AirAsia is the first airline globally to collaborate with INTERPOL to implement the I-Checkit system to screen the passports of all prospective passengers against information contained in the world police body’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.
About CFM International
The LEAP engine is a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. This engine has experienced the fastest order ramp up in commercial aviation history and CFM has received orders for a total of more than 10,820 LEAP engines across all three models through June 2016. For more information, visit us at www.cfmaeroengines.com or follow us on Twitter @CFM_engines.
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