EVENDALE, Ohio - Air New Zealand has selected GE's CF6-80C2 engine to power future Boeing 747-400 and 767-300 aircraft.
GE's CF6 engine family currently powers 11 Boeing 767 and two Boeing 747 aircraft for the airline.
"Air New Zealand has been a valuable GE customer for many years, operating the CF6 and maintaining a range of GE engines, including the LM2500, LM5000 and the F404," said Jack Lutze, Sales Director for Australasia for GE Aircraft Engines. "We are delighted that Air New Zealand has chosen to extend its confidence in the GE engines."
The first CF6-powered 747-400 to be delivered under this arrangement is scheduled for September 1998.
The CF6-80C2 engine, produced by GE Aircraft Engines, has accumulated approximately 35 million flight hours, with a dispatch reliability rate of 99.94 percent. In addition, the engine's consistently low in-flight shutdown and shop visit rates are unparalleled in its thrust class.
Due to their extraordinary reliability records, the CF6-80A and -80C2 engines were the first in aviation history to receive FAA approval for 180-minute, extended-range, twin-engine operations (ETOPS) on the Boeing 767. ETOPS is defined as the number of minutes from a suitable airport a twin-engine aircraft can fly in the event one engine becomes inoperable. This approval provides far greater route scheduling flexibility by enabling airlines to operate twin-engine aircraft on routes formerly reserved for three- and four-engine aircraft.