Page 13 - AAA JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

[ MAINTENANCE REPAIR OVERHAUL ]

Powering Up LEAP-1A EIS AUGUST 2016

LEAP MRO PREPARATIONS ARE GATHERING CYCLES 1.7+ million
FLIGHT HOURS
3.5+ million
STEAM, EVEN AS ENGINE SHOPS CONTINUE TO
OFFER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR OLDER OPERATORS 50
ENGINES HOURS AVG PER DAY 10+

AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE 481
Atul Chandra
CFM International’s LEAP engine family is now well on its way to
overtake the stupendous success of the CFM56. The engine maker
now has a production backlog for its engines of more than seven LEAP-1B EIS MAY 2017
years with an order backlog for 16,400 LEAP and CFM56 engines
(as of end June). CFM has also successfully managed one of the
most rapid engine production ramp-ups seen in the history of avi- CYCLES 630,000+
ation, with weekly LEAP production rates having increased by 40
per cent from 2018. CFM delivered more than 2,150 engines last FLIGHT HOURS 1.7 million
year, achieving its production target for 2018.
OPERATORS 53
LEAP engines are already demonstrating higher utilisation rates HOURS AVG PER DAY 10+
compared to the CFM56. CFM is developing a strong in-house
capability through CFM Services as well as expanding third-party AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE 389
MRO capability to support the fast growing fleet of engines. The
engine maker projects that LEAP engine service visits will touch
1,000 by 2025. The LEAP engine fleet had logged more than five and higher residual values. There are currently
million engine flight hours through August. four CFM internal overhaul sites on line for the
LEAP fleet and this will expand to a total of
LEAP MRO six locations by the end of this year, including
There are more than 40 shops including third-party providers, Lafayette, Indiana; Queretaro, Mexico; Celma,
who currently perform CFM56 engine overhauls. More than two- Brazil; Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines, near Paris,
thirds of the worldwide shop visits are completed by non-CFM France; Brussels Belgium; and Kuala Lumpur,
shops, while GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines handle the Malaysia. Lufthansa Technik became the first
rest. LEAP engine operators will benefit from a similar approach, CFM Branded Service Agreement (CBSA)
which will allow them to benefit from competition, lower mainte- licensee in February 2018, for the LEAP-1A
nance costs over the engine life cycle; a broader range of services; engine. Air France-KLM and TAP also offer

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