In the backdrop of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to India, Akasa Air on Friday announced an order of over 300 CFM LEAP-1B engines to power its latest order of 150 Boeing B737 MAX family aircraft.
French-American aerospace major CFM International is a 50:50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines. The Boeing B737 MAX family aircraft are solely powered by CFM engines.
The agreement between the two companies has been announced to purchase CFM LEAP-1B engines to power the recent order of 150 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes and it also includes spare engines and a services contract.
The Mumbai-based airline had launched its operations in August 2022 and had previously ordered a total of 76 LEAP-1B-powered B737-8 aircraft, of which 22 are currently in service.
“With CFM as our long-term engine maintenance provider, we remain confident in our path to becoming one of the top 30 leading airlines in the world, by the turn of this decade,” Vinay Dube, founder and chief executive officer of Akasa Air said.
Currently more than 400 CFM-powered aircraft are in service in India and 2,500 LEAP engines are in the backlog.
“Our customers, including Akasa, are seeing 15 to 20% better fuel efficiency with their LEAP-powered fleets and it has the highest reliability and daily utilization rates in this thrust class,” said Gaël Méheust, president and chief executive officer of CFM International.
Last week, the airline announced an order for an additional 150 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The announcement was made at the Wings Air Show in Hyderabad. At list prices, the order has been pegged at over $20 billion.
In 2021, Akasa Air had placed its initial order of 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which was followed up with an order of four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in June 2023. The latest order takes the airline’s cumulative order book to 226 aircraft. Akasa Air currently operates a fleet of 22 aircraft. The airline said it will take the delivery of the remaining 204 aircraft over eight years through 2032. The latest order will comprise of Boeing 737 MAX 10 and 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft.
The airline had first signed purchase and services agreement for engine maintenance and spare engines with CFM in Nov 2021 to power 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
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Published: 26 Jan 2024, 04:54 PM IST