LE BOURGET, France — 20 June 2017 — At a special ceremony here today, K5 Aviation GmbH of Germany finalized an order with CFM International for the advanced LEAP-1A engine to power the new Airbus ACJ319neo aircraft ordered in 2015 and scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2019. The engine order is valued at $29 million U.S. at list price.

K5 Aviation was the launch customer for the ACJ319neo. The company already manages three ACJ319s powered by CFM56-5B engines that are offered for VVIP charter. 28 East, owned by K5, managed the aircraft acquisition. The new aircraft will be equipped with additional fuel tanks to allow K5 to operate the aircraft on very long, non-stop routes.

“We have had great success with our CFM56-5B engines, so partnering with CFM again was the natural choice,” says K5 Aviation CEO Erik Scheidt. “We are certainly delighted by what we have seen the LEAP-1A engine provide in commercial airlines service and know that it will be a tremendous asset to our operations.”

“We have had a great relationship with K5 as a CFM56-5B customer and are obviously delighted that they have chosen to stay with CFM for their new ACJ319neo,” said Gaël Méheust, president and CEO of CFM International.

The LEAP-1A engine entered commercial service in August 2016 and is providing its 14 operators with a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, with an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions; and lower noise and NOx emissions. To date, the fleet in service has logged more than 77,000 engine flight cycles and more than 145,000 engine flight hours while maintaining CFM’s industry-leading reliability.