PIERRE FABRE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CFM INTERNATIONAL
Orders at CFM International are running 30% below a year ago, but President & CEO Pierre Fabre is far from despondant.
"We have booked 87 airplanes so far," he told Show News, compared with 813 CFM56 engines in 2003, including military and spare engines, at a value of more than $4.5 billion at list price. But his tally this year doesn't include the wins at Virgin America (18 new aircraft plus leasing of 15 additional new A320s from GE Capital Aviation Services and options for up to 72 additional aircraft), and CFM's role powering up to 109 Multimission Maritime Boeing 737s that the U.S. Navy will purchase to replace its aging fleet of 223 Lockheed P-3s.
CFM has now delivered a total of 14,200 engines into service since its inception, with total orders of 16,656—setting itself in the history books as the world's most popular airliner engine ever. The 50-50 joint venture between General Electric and Snecma of France is the sole supplier of engines for the Boeing 737, Airbus A340-200 and -300 and reengined KC-135 tankers. It competes against International Aero Engines on the Airbus A320 family of single-aisle airliners.
Last year it won orders for 187 CFM-powered A320s (vs 142 with the IAE V2500), and this year is running neck-and-neck at 46 vs 49 respectively.
"Orders are interesting, but I am more interested in deliveries—that is the proof," Fabre noted. CFMI delivered 730 engines in 2003, and expects to ship a slightly lower 714 this year. In contrast, IAE expects to ship just over 200 engines this year.
"We powered 55% of the A320 family delivered in 2003, and have a 57% share over the last five years. This year we will power 55% of the A320 family to be delivered," Fabre said.
Industry observes expected a major test early this year at China Southern, which flies both the CFM56 and the V2500 in its fleet and is one of the few airlines in the world that can compare the engines side-by-side. In the event it chose CFM to power its 15 Airbus A320-200s and six A319-100s.
"That was one of our easiest wins because the airline already had its own data," said Fabre. "They had all the facts themselves." The airline, he said, was comparing the engines on reliability, maintenance costs and time on wing.
Fabre said the main area of activity now is Southeast Asia "which is really boiling." From Australia to Indonesia, from Singapore to the Philippines, as well as India, operators are exploring setting up low-cost airlines. "Many are called, but few are chosen," Fabre noted of the success rate. Central and Eastern European carriers are now joining the fray, he added.
"For all these airlines the engine product is the same, reliability is the same—but they don't want any maintenance. Our differentiator is to provide them with the right package."
