EVENDALE, OH - Ethiopian Airlines has finalized its purchase of the GEnx engine to power its 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2008. The value of the engines ordered is more than $330 million.
"We are very excited that Ethiopian Airlines will be the first airline in Africa to fly GEnx-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft," said Roger N. Seager, vice president of sales for GE - Aviation. "We look forward to working with the airline as it brings the fleet into service."
"This purchase agreement heralds a new chapter in the relationship between the two companies," said Girma Wake, chief executive officer of Ethiopian Airlines.
One of the largest airlines in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines provides seamless connections to 47 destinations around the globe, including 28 in Africa via its Addis Ababa hub.
The best-selling engine for new wide-body aircraft, the GEnx has orders exceeding 600 engines. Based on the highly successful GE90 architecture, the engine will succeed GE's CF6 engine family, which is the most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft. It provides significantly better specific fuel consumption and payload performance than GE's CF6 engines. Testing began earlier this year on the GEnx engine, with engine certification scheduled for 2007.
The GEnx engine is the world's only jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provide for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed well, with no routine on-wing maintenance required and no in-service issues for more than a decade. The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower oxides of nitrogen (Nox) levels.
The GEnx is part of GE's "ecomagination" product portfolio--GE's commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
GE - Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. GE also is a world-leading provider of maintenance and support services for jet engines.