ZHUHAI, China - In just four and a half years of service, the advanced CFM56-7 powerplant for the Boeing 737 family has logged 15.5 million flight hours with the reliability associated with a much more mature engine program. 



The CFM56-7 is produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs of France and General Electric of the United States. 



"We are obviously very proud of the CFM56-7," said Pierre Fabre, president and CEO of CFM International. "When we began development work in 1993, we made some significant promises to our customers: better fuel burn, lower maintenance cost, longer time on wing, and improved reliability. This engine has delivered on each of those promises, and then some." 



Through October 2002, more than 2,020 CFM56-7-powered 737s had been ordered, making it the best- and fastest-selling engine/aircraft combination in history. The first CFM56-7-powered 737-700 was delivered to launch customer Southwest Airlines in December 1997. Today, more than 1,200 aircraft are in service worldwide. The in-service fleet, which includes 737-600/-700/-800/-900 aircraft , has accumulated more than eight million flight cycles. These engines are operating with a 99.95 percent dispatch reliability rate, which translates to less than one departure per 2,000 flights being delayed 15 minutes or more or canceled for engine-related issues. The CFM56-7 also has one of the lowest basic in-flight shutdown rates in the industry: 0.003 per 1,000 hours. The rate is equivalent to one engine-caused in-flight shutdown every 333,333 flight hours. 



In addition to the commercial 737 applications, the CFM56-7 also powers the Boeing Business Jet. The first military application, the C-40A, was delivered to the U.S. Naval Reserve in April 2001. The aircraft is a modified 737-700 combination passenger and freighter airplane which was designed to replace the Navy's C-9 aircraft. A second military application, the Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Wedgetail, will enter service with the Australian Defence Force in 2006.