LE BOURGET - CIT Group, the U.S.-based leasing and long-term finance company, has become a new CFM56 customer with a $100 million order for CFM56-7 engines to power 10 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft.
The engine order is part the first new aircraft purchase ever for CIT; the company had traditionally leased used aircraft. The new aircraft are scheduled to begin delivery in 2001 and will continue through 2003. CFM 56-7 engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma of France and General Electric of the Untied States.
The first CFM56-7-powered 737-700 was delivered in December 1997; both the 737-600 and 737-800 have since entered revenue service while the largest model in this series, the 737-900 will begin delivery next year. To date, the CFM56-7-powered 737 fleet has logged more than 800,000 flight hours and more than 430,000 flight cycles. By year's end, the fleet will have accumulated 2.5 million flight hours.
The CFM56-7 has rated high in customer value for the airlines currently operating the engine. The CFM56-7 has maintenance costs that are as much as 15 percent better than its predecessor, the CFM56-3C1. In addition, the engine's specific fuel consumption, which is better than initial specifications, is nearly 8 percent better than the CFM56-3. The CFM56-7 has a dispatch reliability rate of 99.93 percent meaning that less than one per 1,000 is delayed or canceled for engine-related issues. The engine also has a .013 shop visit rate, and a .015 in-flight shutdown rate. The CFM56-7 has been able to achieve these outstanding rates in very demanding circumstances. For example, Southwest 737s, which have the highest utilization rate of the fleet, accumulate an average of 13 flights per day.