FARNBOROUGH, England -- Ryanair and GE Aviation have signed a three-year extension to include all current firm and option aircraft on order by Ryanair to its current OnPointSM solutions agreement with GE Aviation's Services business for the airline's fleet of CFM56-7B* engines.
The original agreement was signed in 2004; today's new agreement keeps it in force until 2017. In addition, it expands the coverage of the agreement to include the new Tech Insertion engines first introduced into the Ryanair fleet in 2007 and which provide reduced fuel burn and lower emissions.
This all-inclusive maintenance contract includes the repair and overhaul of engine components, the provision of spare parts, fleet technical support and the maintenance and overhaul of the CFM56-7B engines.
"We've built a great relationship with GE over the last several years and are pleased to sign this extension," said Michael Hickey, Ryanair's director of engineering. "Over the past four years, the OnPoint program has enabled us to significantly reduce the maintenance and overhaul costs for our CFM56-7B engine fleet. This extension now takes that relationship even further into the future and encompasses the new Tech Insertion engines we began incorporating in the fleet last year, along with all the engines we currently have on order. It puts Ryanair in a great position going forward because we know exactly what our costs are going to be."
Ryanair was Europe's original low fares airline and is still Europe's largest low fares carrier. In FY 2008, Ryanair will carry 58 million passengers on 713 low fare routes across 26 European countries. The airline operates the largest CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737 fleet in Europe, with 166 currently in service and firm orders for 135 additional aircraft scheduled for delivery over the next four years.
"We are obviously pleased to sign this extension with Ryanair," said Mark Tivey, regional general manager of commercial engine for GE Aviation. "The initial contract has been working very well and provided a firm footing on which to grow our cooperative relationship."
GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of commercial and military jet engines and components as well as integrated digital, electric power, and mechanical systems for aircraft. GE Aviation also has a global service network to support these offerings.
SMOnPoint is a service mark of General Electric Company.
*CFM56-7B engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Snecma (SAFRAN Group).