FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW -- GE and Aer Lingus, the national airline of Ireland, are celebrating one million flight hours for its CF6-80E1-powered Airbus A330 aircraft.
"Aer Lingus was the second customer to operate CF6-80E1-powered Airbus A330s, and the first A330 ETOPS operator. We are happy to be celebrating its one million flight hour milestone with one of our first customers," said Chuck Williams, general manager of the CF6 Program at GE Aviation. "The CF6 engines have a long history of outstanding performance and reliability. This milestone further proves the engine’s dependability and makes us confident as we look forward to many more flying hours with Aer Lingus in the years to come."
Aer Lingus began operating its first CF6-80E1-powered A330-200 aircraft in 1994 and has 14 CF6-80E1 engines installed on its A330 aircraft in operation today. Along with its CF6 engine fleet, Aer Lingus also operates CFM56-powered A320s to make its entire 43 aircraft fleet powered by GE and CFM International engines. CFM International is a 50/50 joint venture between GE and Snecma (Safran group).
More than 500 CF6-80E1 engines have been delivered to 33 customers. GE remains committed to the CF6-80E1 engine and continues to invest in technology improvements for the engine. These advancements, along with proactive maintenance and operational procedures, have helped to increase the engine's time on wing.
GE's CF6 engines are among the most utilized and reliable in the industry. Powering more than 10 models of wide-body aircraft, the engine family has established an unparalleled record of reliability and has compiled more than 375 million flight-hours in service with close to 200 customers worldwide.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.