F_I_2015_03_17_23

AIR TRANSPORT

12 | Flight International | 17-23 March 2015 flightglobal.com

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A

s pressure grows to raise al-
ready peak production rates
for single-aisle aircraft, CFM In-
ternational has decided to roll
out two major upgrades to the
production system for the Leap
engine series.
The joint venture of GE Avia-
tion and Snecma will automate
the quality inspection process
and integrate a final assembly
process that includes both pulsed
and articulated features, CFM
chief executive Jean-Paul Ebanga
told the ISTAT conference in
Phoenix, Arizona on 9 March.

A

ir Greenland has sold its de
Havilland Canada Dash 7
fleet to Canadian operator Trans
Capital Air.
The airline had put its three
Dash 7s – registered OY-CBU,
OY-GRE and OY-GRF – on the
market last year.
Trans Capital Air, based in To-
ronto, sent a party to Nuuk to in-
spect the aircraft in February.
Air Greenland chief Michael
Højgaard says the Dash 7 is a “sta-
ble and robust” type but that the
sale will enable it to modernise
its fleet.

Two Dash 8 turboprops (OY-

GRO and OY-GRP) are due to

join the fleet in March and Octo-

ber this year, bringing the carri-

er’s total to seven.

These will be the “backbone”

of its domestic flight operations,

Air Greenland states.

Højgaard says the Dash 8 is

less expensive, in terms of

spares, and generates a 25% sav-

ing in fuel.

The two aircraft being deliv-

ered this year will also have

higher fuel capacity, for longer-

range services. Q

Dash 7s make way for Dash 8s at Air Greenland

FLEET DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

PROPULSION STEPHEN TRIMBLE PHOENIX

CFM set to make Leap to higher rates

GE Aviation-Snecma joint venture prepares for major production increases with upgrades to engine assembly processes

“We are facing a massive pro-

duction ramp-up and we have to

deal with that successfully,”

Ebanga says.

With CFM the sole-source sup-

plier for the Boeing 737 Max and

the Comac C919 and offering a

competitive option on the Airbus

A320neo, the three versions of the

Leap-1 series have already attract-

ed orders for 8,600 engines.

Airbus and Boeing have com-

mitted to increase production on

the A320neo to 50 per month and

on the 737 Max to 52 per month

within the next two years, push-

ing CFM’s annual output of 1,

engines today to about 1,800 by

2020, Ebanga says. That ramp-up

includes a transition from the

CFM56 series to the Leap series

over that time period, he adds.

At the same time, Airbus and

Boeing are considering even fur-

ther increases in production,

with Airbus studying a ramp-up

to 60 A320neos per month and

Boeing acknowledging potential

capacity to build as many 63 737

Max aircraft per month.

“We have our best customers

who are asking us to go higher

and faster,” Ebanga says.

CFM previously announced

plans to expand production capac-

ity by investing $800 million to

add more than 140,000m^2 (1.5 mil-

lion ft^2 ) of manufacturing space at

seven major new facilities un-

veiled within the last three years.

The next step CFM is taking is

to improve how it assembles and

inspects engines as it transitions

to the Leap series, Ebanga says. In

addition to modifying the assem-

bly process, optical-based inspec-

tion machines will replace

“human quality-control activi-

ties”, he says.

With more than 70% of the

single-aisle engine backlog, CFM

is most affected by any changes

in production rate by Airbus,

Boeing and Comac.

Pratt & Whitney supplies the

PW1100G-JM engine for the

A320neo family, as well as simi-

lar geared turbofans for several

other platforms, including the

Bombardier CSeries, Embraer

E-Jet E2, Irkut MC-21 and Mitsub-

ishi Regional Jet.

“We’re partnering with our

supply base, partnering with our

logistics teams,” says Rick Duer-

loo, P&W vice-president of sales

and marketing. “I can tell you

right now we are ready for this

ramp-up. No question.”

Ebanga calls the production in-

crease over the next five years the

key issue facing the industry, sug-

gesting CFM may wait to match a

2% fuel efficiency improvement

announced by P&W last year

until the ramp-up is addressed.

“We have this huge ramp-up

we never saw before,” he says.

“We have to deal with that. We

have to successfully deliver all

those engines. We are focusing on

the main issue, one at a time.

There will be a time to upgrade

our engines and we will do it.”

CFM has completed more than

half of the certification testing on

the Leap-1A engine for the

A320neo, Ebanga says. That ver-

sion of the re-engined aircraft is

due to enter service in 2016, fol-

lowing the introduction of the

PW1100G-JM-powered A320neo

in the fourth quarter. Q

“We have to

successfully deliver all

those engines. We are

focusing on the main

issue, one at a time”

JEAN-PAUL EBANGA

Chief executive, CFM International

Rex Features

CFM International
Quality inspection of CFM’s
Leap engines will be automated

The three aircraft

were put on the

market last year