FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW -- TRIP Linhas Aereas has exercised its option to purchase two EMBRAER 190 aircraft powered by CF34-10E engines. The options were part of a 2008 order in which TRIP purchased five EMBRAER 175, plus options for ten more and purchase rights for another fifteen aircraft. 

The engine order for the additional two E190 aircraft is valued at $17M (USD) list price. Aircraft deliveries will begin in 2011. 

"TRIP Linhas Aereas operates CF34-8E engines on its fleet of six EMBRAER 175 aircraft and this order demonstrates the airlines' continued trust in the CF34's outstanding performance and reliability," said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. 

GE Aviation's CF34 engine, the best-selling engine in regional aviation history, recently surpassed 5,000 total deliveries. Every 8 seconds, a GE CF34-powered aircraft takes off somewhere in the world and CF34 engines travel the equivalent of 210 times around the planet each day carrying 500,000 passengers to their destinations. With a dispatch reliability rate of 99.95 percent and more than 50 million flight-hours, the CF34 engine epitomizes the reliability and durability necessary for high-cycle operation. 

With five years of service and more than 700 engines in operation with 36 customers, the CF34-10E engine has been performing well in the field, accumulating more than 3 million flight-hours and 2 million cycles. The engine has the highest thrust rating for the CF34 family with 20,000 pounds of thrust and includes many advanced technologies, including a single-stage high-pressure turbine, advanced wide chord fan blades, advanced 3-D aero compressor and turbine airfoils, and a chevron exhaust nozzle. The CF34-10E engine powers the EMBRAER 190/195 as well as the new Embraer Lineage 1000 business jet that entered service in mid-2009. 

For the next-generation CF34 engine, GE plans to further reduce fuel consumption by 15 percent compared with the CF34-10E engine. The technology program will maintain CF34's tradition of world-class reliability for high cycle use and will incorporate GE's eCore technologies, including 3-D aero design airfoils, advanced materials, and the next-generation TAPS combustor for reduced emissions. Core testing began in 2009. The engine could enter service as early as 2015. 

TRIP Linhas Aereas is the largest regional airline in South America. Founded in 1998, the airline belongs to the Caprioli and Águia Branca groups and is headquartered in Campinas, São Paulo. Skywest Inc. is also a large investor, currently holding 20% of TRIP equity. The carrier currently operates 35 aircraft and will carry almost 3.7 million passengers to more than 70 destinations in Brazil this year. 

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.