Dubai, UAE, September 26, 2005 - Qatar Airways recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with General Electric Company for the GEnx engine to power the airline's new fleet 60 Airbus A350 aircraft.
The GEnx order from Qatar Airways is valued at more than US$1.6 billion, and represents the largest single order for GE's newest engine under development.
Deliveries of Qatar Airways' new A350 fleet, a combination of A350-800 and A350-900 aircraft, begin in 2010. The A350 order is part of an aggressive growth program the airline is undertaking to expand its route structure. One of the world's fastest growing airlines, Qatar Airways, based in Doha, currently serves 66 destinations throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, increasing to 68 destinations by the end of this year.
Qatar Airways have built an award-winning product for its superior first, business, and economy class cabins and in-flight hospitality to earn a place among the world's elite airlines.
"GE is gratified to be an important part of Qatar Airways' aggressive growth program," said Scott Donnelly, President and CEO of GE Aircraft Engines. "GE's CF6 engines power Qatar Airways' large fleet of A330 aircraft, and the GEnx engine represents our next generation of technology."
"We have been very pleased with the reliability and performance of CF6 engines powering our A330-200 and A330-300 fleet," said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways. "Our strong working relationship with GE extends to training our maintenance crews, overhauling our engines, and also monitoring the engines daily during flight through the Remote Diagnostics program. Based on these successes, we are pleased to expand our business arrangement with GE with its new GEnx engines."
The GEnx, based on the architecture of the renowned GE90, is the next-generation of engine technology to succeed GE's highly successful CF6, the best-selling engine family for wide-body aircraft. Compared to the CF6 family, the GEnx will improve specific fuel consumption by 15 percent.
The GEnx is the world's only jet engine with a front fan case and fan blades made of composites for greater durability and weight reduction. It will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine. The GEnx features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower NOx levels. The first full GEnx engine will go to test in 2006, with engine certification scheduled for 2007.
The GEnx is part of GE's "ecomagination" product portfolio - GE's commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that will enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
GE Aircraft Engines, a part of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. Visit GEAE online at http://www.geae.com/.
For further information, contact:
Rick Kennedy (513) 243-3372, [email protected]
Deb Case (513) 243-0094, [email protected]
More on Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways currently operates flights from its operational hub of Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, to 66 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and the Far East. The airline adds the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to its growing list of destinations from November 15, followed a month later by Berlin on December 15.
Qatar Airways flies a modern fleet of 41 all-Airbus aircraft, which will almost triple in size to 110 jets within 10 years. The airline announced plans at the Paris Air Show in June to acquire up to 80 aircraft, comprising 60 of the new generation A350s and 20 Boeing 777s worth a total US$15.2 billion. It is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck A380' super jumbos' with four aircraft on order and scheduled for delivery from 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport.
Qatar Airways recently retained its status as one of only a select-few Five Star-ranked airlines in the world by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency.
For further information, contact:
Salam Al Shawa
Senior Manager Marketing & Communications, Qatar Airways
Tel: (+974) 449 6956, Fax: (+974) 462 0132
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.qatarairways.com
Corporate Communications
[email protected]
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