EVENDALE, OH -- Since August, General Electric Company has won a series of significant jet engine orders in China, including four of five competitions in that country to power the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Five Chinese airlines have firmed up 787 orders for a total of 57 aircraft. Four airlines selected 42 of those aircraft with the GEnx engine now under development. GEnx wins in China are: China Eastern Airlines (15 787s), Hainan Airlines (8 787s), Shanghai Airlines (9 787s), and China Southern (10 787s). Aircraft deliveries begin in 2008.
The 84 installed GEnx engines for the Chinese airlines are valued at more than $1 billion. These engines will be maintained under GE OnPointsm Solutions agreements.
Scott Donnelly, president and CEO of GE-Aviation, attributes much of this success to the GEnx's technical attributes, as well as to the outstanding performance of GE90 engines powering Boeing 777s worldwide. The GEnx is based on the architecture of the higher-thrust GE90 engine, which also powers China Southern's fleet of 777s.
In addition, Chinese airlines operate or have on order more than 500 Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s powered by the CFM56 engine. CFM International, a joint company of GE and Snecma Moteurs, produces the CFM56 engine family. "The airlines in China are very comfortable working with GE," Donnelly added.
GE - Aviation's growing presence in China is reflected by its investments there. In 2006, GE will purchase approximately $200 million in jet engine components in the China region. In addition, GE recently opened a China Operations Center in Shanghai to provide around-the-clock customer and product support. The entry into service later this decade of China's ARJ21 regional jet, powered by GE's CF34 engine, will create further GE opportunities for investment in China.
The purchase by four Chinese airlines of the GEnx further establishes it as the best-selling engine for the Boeing 787. Selected for three new wide-body aircraft under development, the GEnx has orders exceeding 770 engines. The GEnx 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.
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.