Image: American Airlines and CFM International expanded their partnership as LEAP-1A engines will power future A321neos and CFM will provide continued long-term maintenance support
It has been an exciting start to the year for GE Aerospace, with commercial momentum continuing to build upon our installed base and extend our roughly $190B backlog.
Recently, United Airlines selected 300 GEnx engines, including spare engines and services, to grow their 787 fleet to more than 200 GEnx powered aircraft—making United the largest GEnx operator in the world.
Additionally, American Airlines and CFM International (CFM) announced that LEAP-1A continues to be the engine of choice on their A320neo family aircraft. This newest commitment adds LEAP-1A power and maintenance for 120 A321neo, 35 A321XLR and options for 116 additional A320neo aircraft to their growing fleet.
Outfitted with the latest durability upgrades, these GEnx and LEAP-1A engines will deliver leading time-on-wing to our customers.
Ryanair and CFM also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a material services agreement that will support Ryanair’s entire fleet of approximately 2,000 CFM56 and LEAP engines across its Boeing 737 aircraft. This MOU demonstrates our commitment to an open MRO ecosystem that supports growing demand while reducing cost of ownership for our customers.
In Defense, we continue to progress the future of flight, with progress across several of our small engine, or Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programs. For example, last week together with our partner Kratos, we were awarded a joint U.S. Air Force contract for $12.4M to design a next-generation engine for CCA. This funding will complete the preliminary design of the GEK1500 engine as we prepare for a prototype.
These wins follow the Singapore Airshow, where we also announced several exciting partnerships. These include a signed MOU to establish the Singapore Partnership for Aviation & Aerospace Research and Capability which will develop next-generation aerospace technologies including safety driven artificial intelligence solutions. Additionally, CFM will partner with Airbus and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to establish the world’s first airport testing ground for CFM’s RISE technology demonstration program. We also announced a multi-year investment, worth up to $300 million, to expand repair capabilities in Singapore—enabling faster turnaround times through improved automation, digitization, and AI-enabled inspection.
With the spotlight on Singapore, we had the opportunity to showcase our local component repair facility, which represents approximately 60% of GE Aerospace repair volume. Visitors saw FLIGHT DECK in action, our culture of continuous improvement and the tremendous value of component repair. The team highlighted growth in capacity without growing physical footprint to make space for repair capability of LEAP high-pressure turbine (HPT) blades, while also spotlighting our more than 3,000 repairs available on the GE90 program. Repairs are often 50% less expensive than new material, and are a key part of our strategy to support a lower cost of ownership for our customers. Additionally, given the current environment of ongoing material constraints, utilizing repairs also has benefits to turnaround times. For example, in Singapore, utilizing repaired parts instead of new materials reduces the turnaround time by up to 50% for that stage of a shop visit.
Thank you for your continued Interest in GE Aerospace.
The Investor Relations team