China Eastern selected GE's GEnx-1B engine to power its 15 new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The engine order is valued at more than $850 million (USD) list price. Delivery of these aircraft will begin in 2018. The aircraft order was announced in April 2016.
China Eastern also signed a 15-year TrueChoice Overhaul agreement with GE Aviation for the time and material to repair and overhaul of these GEnx-1B engines.
"China Eastern has the biggest GE and CFM fleet in China and they are the backbone in our daily operations," said Tang Bing, Director and Vice President of China Eastern. "We believe the performance and efficiency of the GEnx-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliners will bring many benefits to our growing fleet, which will be well supported by GE's service program and the China team."
"We are very pleased that China Eastern has chosen GE for their fleet expansion plan," said Chaker Chahrour, vice president and general manager of Global Sales and Marketing at GE Aviation. "China Eastern is a strategic partner and one of GE's largest customers. We treasure this precious partnership and will continue to foster it through dedicated service and support well into the future.
As strategic partners, GE and China Eastern have been in close cooperation for more than three decades. China Eastern became a GE and CFM customer in 1985 when China Eastern Yunnan introduced the first CFM56-3-powered Boeing 737 aircraft. Since then, the GE and CFM fleet operated by China Eastern has grown bigger and bigger, to its current size of more than 800 engines, which is the largest GE and CFM engine fleet in China.
More than 1,600 GEnx-1B engines have been sold to 51 customers. Compared to GE's CF6 engine, the GEnx engine offers up to 15 percent better fuel efficiency, which translates to 15 percent less CO2. The GEnx's innovative twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor dramatically reduces NOx gases as much as 55 percent below today's regulatory limits and other regulated gases as much as 90 percent. Based on the ratio of decibels to pounds of thrust, the GEnx is the quietest engine GE produces due to the large, more efficient fan blades that operate at slower tip speed, resulting in about 40 percent lower noise levels.
The GEnx is part of GE's "ecomagination" product portfolio - GE's business strategy to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
GEnx's revenue-sharing participants are IHI Corporation of Japan, Volvo Aero of Sweden, MTU of Germany, TechSpace Aero (Safran) of Belgium, Safran Aircraft Engines of France and Samsung Techwin of Korea.
Based in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines was the first Chinese airline to be listed on New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets in 1997. Currently, it operates a fleet of over 600 aircraft, average age less than 5.5 years, being one of the youngest fleets in major airlines in the world. As a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, CEA serves over 100 million passengers globally and ranks 7th in the world. Through an air network, CEA now reaches 1,062 destinations in 177 countries.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, integrated digital, avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings and is part of the world's Digital Industrial Company with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.