Ryanair to order 200 CFM LEAP-1B engines to power 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200 valued at more than $1.3 billion

Expands CFM-powered fleet to more than 1,000 engines

NEW YORK, New York, 9-9-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Ryanair today announced its commitment to purchase 200 LEAP-1B engines to power 100 Boeing 737 MAX 200. Boeing formally launched the airplane, a variant of the MAX 8 that can accommodate up to 200 passengers, today with this order. Once finalized, the firm engine order is valued at more than $2.6 billion U.S. at list price.

Ryanair also has options to purchase an additional 100 LEAP-1B-powered 737 MAX 200 airplanes.

“The CFM-powered Boeing 737 has always been a winning combination,” said Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair. “The reliability of the CFM56 engines already in our fleet has helped us sustain profitable growth in the past. We look to this new LEAP engine to do even better.”

“The LEAP-1B-powered MAX 200 is going to be a great engine/airplane combination and we believe it will bring tremendous value to our customers,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “The major improvement in fuel efficiency, coupled with CFM’s legendary reliability, will fit seamlessly into Ryanair’s very successful business model and should prove to be a real asset to their operations.”

“Ryanair is one of our oldest customers, as well as one of our biggest,” said Gael Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM parent company Snecma (Safran). “We are really looking forward to working closely with the Ryanair team to introduce this new engine into its fleet.”

Ryanair first became a CFM customer in 1998 with an order for 28 CFM56-7-powered 737s and today operates a fleet of more than 300 Next-Generation 737-800s, representing the largest fleet of CFM-powered Boeing airplanes and the largest CFM56-7B-powered Boeing Next-Generation 737 fleet in Europe. Today’s order will expand the airline’s CFM engines fleet to more than 1,000. The airline operates more than 1,600 flights daily from 68 bases connecting 186 destinations in 30 countries.

The LEAP-1B engines powering Ryanair’s 737 MAX 200 aircraft represent the new state-of-the-art in engine technology. The foundation of the LEAP engine is heavily rooted in advanced aerodynamics, environmental, and materials technology development programs. It will provide double-digit improvements in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s best CFM engine, along with dramatic reductions in engine noise and emissions. All this technology brings with it CFM’s legendary reliability and low maintenance costs.

The first full LEAP-1B engine began ground testing in July 2014, three days ahead of schedule, as part of the most extensive ground and flight test certification program in CFM’s history. The total program, which encompasses all three LEAP engine variants, includes 28 ground and CFM flight test engines, along with a total of 32 flight test engines for Boeing, as well as Airbus and COMAC. Over the next three years, these engines will accumulate approximately 40,000 engine cycles leading up to entry into service. By the time this engine enters service, CFM will have simulated more than 15 years of airline service with 60 different engine builds.

CFM has been the sole engine supplier for all Boeing 737 aircraft models since 1981. In 2011, Boeing selected the LEAP-1B as the sole powerplant for its new 737 MAX. To date, a total of 4,478 LEAP-1B engines have been ordered to date to power 2,239 the MAX aircraft family.

SAFRAN CONTACT

For more information, contact:

Jamie Jewell
513.552.2790
jamie.jewell@ge.com
Mobile: 513.885.2282

Rick Kennedy
513.243.3372
rick.l.kennedy@ge.com
Mobile: 513.607.0609

Giulia Lecarrié
+33.1.69.87.09.29
giulia.lecarrie@snecma.fr
Mobile: +33.6.42.40.17.19