The Singapore Airshow, Asia’s largest airshow, is underway at the Changi Exhibit Centre. GE and CFM International, GE’s 50/50 joint venture with Snecma (SAFRAN) of France, are heating up the show with more than $5.6 billion in engine and services announcements.
Announcements include:
- Transportation Partners, the leasing arm of Lion Group, ordering 348 LEAP-1A engines to power 174 firm Airbus A320neo aircraft. The value of the installed and spare engines is US$4.9 billion list price.
- Singapore Airlines signing an extension to its OnPointSM solution agreement for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of GE90-115B engine that power 19 of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
- Qingdao Airlines selecting CFM56-5B engine to power five Airbus A320ceo aircraft. The order is valued at $100 million U.S. at list price.
- China Airlines signing a 15-year OnPointSM materials solution agreement for the airline’s fleet of CF6-80E engines that power its Airbus A330 fleet.
- Colorful Guizhou Airlines in China reaching a 10-year OnPointSM solution agreement for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the CF34-10E engine fleet powering its seven EMBRAER 190 aircraft. The agreement is valued at more than $56 million (USD) over the life of the agreement.
“The Singapore Airshow 2016 has been a truly remarkable one for GE Aviation,” said Chaker Chahour, vice president and general manager of Global Sales and Marketing at GE Aviation. “Along with our announcements, we spent time talking with many customers and continuing to strengthen our relationships.”
Left to Right: Chris Drewer, GE Aviation general manager of sales for Asia Pacific region, Chaker Chahrour, GE Aviation vice president and general manager of Global Sales and Marketing, Lau Hwa Peng, Singapore Airlines, Senior Vice President Engineering (Acting), Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of GE Engine Services
Singapore has played a significant role for GE Aviation since 1981 when the company became the first aircraft engine manufacturer to open an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in the Loyang estate. Today, GE Aviation Engine Services – Singapore consists of two facilities with a combined staff of 1,500 who perform state-of-the-art repair and overhaul processes on compressor & turbine airfoils, combustors and rotating parts on a wide range of GE and CFM aircraft engines as well as industrial aeroderivative engines. At this week’s 35 year anniversary celebration, GE announced plans to invest $110 million in the facility during the next decade.
“GE Aviation Engine Services-Singapore has played a significant role in the growth of GE’s aircraft engine component repair efforts,” said Shane Wright, chief financial officer at GE Aviation who attended this week’s celebration. “The investment plans for the site will enable GE Aviation to better support its customer repair needs for existing engines as well as new engines that are beginning to enter service.”
Robotics are playing an increasingly larger part in the operations at GE Aviation Engine Services – Singapore
The $110 million investment will fund several projects, including a Lean Lab for Advanced Manufacturing, an Asia-Pacific Center of Excellence for the repair of current products, an Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) for research and development on new processes and advanced technologies and an Automation & Robotics Center of Excellence (AR CoE).
“Even as we celebrate our rich history together, I am heartened that our partnership is geared for the future with GE Aviation’s significant investments in new generation MRO capabilities,” said Mr. Lim Kok Kiang, assistant managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board. “Innovation will be integral to the continued success of our aerospace industry, and the establishment of R&D activities at the AR CoE and ATC will ensure the Singapore plants continue to deploy cutting edge technology to serve its customers.”