Air India has signed a firm order with GE for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice™ services agreement, to power 20 Boeing 787-9 and 10 Boeing 777X aircraft. The carrier also ordered over 800 LEAP engines for their new single-aisle fleet.
On Tuesday (February 14, 2023), GE Aerospace announced that Air India has placed a firm order for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice™ engine services to power 20 Boeing 787-9 and 10 Boeing 777X airplanes. The airline also announced a CFM order for over 800 LEAP engines, the largest LEAP order in history, to power their entire new fleet of Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft, as well as 190 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes. Additionally, Air India has signed a multi-year CFM services agreement. CFM is a 50/50 joint venture between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.
In today’s engine order announcement, Tata Sons and Air India’s Chairman, Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, said,
“All of us at Tata Group and Air India are delighted to have this partnership with GE Aerospace, where we will build Air India to be a world class airline and one of the most technology-advanced airlines.”
Also commenting on the order, GE’s Chief Executive Officer and CEO of GE Aerospace, H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., said,
“We are proud to continue our longstanding partnership with Tata Group and Air India. We look forward to working together to introduce these engines into Air India’s fleet and are committed to ensuring they deliver exceptional performance.”
Air India’s Managing Director and CEO, Campbell Wilson, added, “This order for GE Aerospace engines supports our Vihaan.AI transformation plan, a key part of which is to dramatically expand our fleet and global network. We are confident that these engines will deliver the reliability and efficiency we need, and we are delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with GE.”
GE Aerospace engines have powered Air India since 1982, when the carrier took delivery of their first CF6-powered Airbus A300. The airline currently operates a fleet of over 150 aircraft, including GE90-powered Boeing 777s and GEnx-powered Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. GE Aerospace’s GE9X is the world’s most powerful, and GE’s most fuel-efficient turbofan, powering the Boeing 777X Family of airplanes. The engine is the quietest ever produced by GE on a pounds of thrust/decibel basis, and offers the lowest NOx emissions in its class, 55 percent lower than current regulatory requirements.
The GEnx powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and features an innovative lean burning twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor that dramatically lowers NOx and other regulated greenhouse gasses, while delivering a 15 percent fuel burn reduction versus the CF6 engine. The LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines have accumulated over 27 million flight hours, with operators reporting up to a 20 percent improvement in fuel-efficiency and CO2 emissions compared to the latest production CFM56 engines. Like all GE and CFM engines, the GEnx, GE9X and LEAP engines are all compatible with approved SAF blends.
GE Aerospace is a world leader in the production of jet engines, components and systems for commercial and military aircraft, and operates a global service network to support these offerings. The company and their joint ventures have an installed base of over 40,000 commercial and 26,000 military aircraft engines.
Source: GE Aerospace