Dubai, October 6, 2002 ---- CFM International and Gulf Air have marked the 10th anniversary of the introduction of CFM56 engines into the airline's fleet. CFM International is a joint venture company between General Electric and Snecma of France.
Part of the Gulf Air fleet since 1992, CFM56-5A engines have powered the fleet of 10 Airbus A320's which the airline operates on its routes throughout the Middle East. CFM engines were also installed in Gulf Air's long-range, four-engine Airbus A340-300 in 1994. The five Airbus A340's, currently in service on routes to Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific region and Australia, are powered by CFM-56-5C engines.
As part of the 10th anniversary celebration, Gulf Air was presented with an award for becoming the CFM56-5C fleet leader in terms of engine cycles. To date, CFM engines have achieved 1.2 million flight hours and 600,000 engine cycles on Gulf Air's aircraft fleet.
"We are very happy to share this milestone with Gulf Air - our 10-year relationship with the airline has been a rewarding one. Our entire GE team extends congratulations on this great achievement," said Pierre Fabre, President and CEO of CFM International.
"The proven track record of reliability of the CFM56 engines is a tribute to the way Gulf Air manages its aircraft fleet. Over the past decade, Gulf Air has chosen to make CFM engines an essential part of its operations and we believe the years ahead will only strengthen our bond."
"The utilisation rates on Gulf Air's CFM engines are impressively high, even more so when considering that the engines operate under the most challenging weather conditions on the airline's routes. This is a great success story for CFM engines," said Jim Shuppert, Regional Manager, GE Aircraft Engines.
GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE), a division of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is the world's leading manufacturer of jet engines for civil and military aircraft, including engines produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma of France and GE.
In addition, GEAE provides comprehensive maintenance support, through its GE Engine Services operation, for GE and non-GE jet engines in service throughout the world. Visit GEAE online at: http://www.geae.com.
GE has been active in the Gulf since 1933. Its activities in the region are conducted through direct presence, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and a wide network of distributors. GE has completed strategic projects in various hi-tech industrial sectors, defence-related contracts and major infrastructure developments.
GE is a diversified technology, manufacturing and services company based on more than a century of achievement and innovation. Today, it is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index that was also included in the original listing of 1896. GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 300,000 people worldwide.
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