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GE's CF34 Turbofan Engine Tops 2,000,000 Engine Flight Hours in Airline Service

February 24, 1998

SINGAPORE - GE's 9,000-pound-thrust-class CF34 turbofan recently reached the significant milestone of two million engine flight hours in airline service powering the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet.

The CF34 entered airline service with Lufthansa in November 1992. Since then, the CF34-powered fleet has grown steadily to over 200 aircraft flown by 17 airlines, and the high levels of engine performance and dependability have established the CF34 as a major contributor to the success of the CRJ with regional airlines.

"Consistent superior performance has been the hallmark of the CF34's success with airlines," said Frank Klaus, general manager of GE's Small Commercial Turbofan Department. "While 2,000,000 engine flight hours is significant in terms of experience, it's actually how the engine has performed over this time that makes the real difference to airlines. The CF34's numbers are hard to beat: a dispatch reliability of 99.99 percent, a shop visit rate of 0.138, and an in-flight shutdown rate of 0.004 all add up to airline profitability, confidence and passenger preference."

Current CF34 models in airline service include the CF34-3A1 and the more recent CF34-B1, which provides lower fuel consumption at cruise, a faster rate of climb, and better hot-day/high-altitude takeoff performance. A derivative model under development, the 14,000-pound-thrust-class CF34-8C1, has been selected to power Bombardier Aerospace's 70-passenger Canadair Regional Jet Series 700 airliner.