JAL selects GEnx engine to power Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet in USD700 million deal
TOKYO (GE Transportation) - Japan Airlines (JAL) has selected the GEnx engine to power its 30 firm, 20 option Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The value of the firm engine order is more than USD700 million. Engine deliveries begin in 2008.
"The selection completes an extensive two-year technical evaluation by JAL, and we are very honored that the GEnx engine has been chosen," said Tom Brisken, general manager of the GEnx project.
With the JAL selection, GEnx engines to date have been selected to power 84 firm Boeing 787 aircraft orders. In total, the new GEnx engine has been selected to power more than 200 aircraft. Those GEnx orders are valued at more than USD5 billion.
Japan Airlines and GE have a long-standing relationship. JAL operates an extensive range of GE engines, including the CT7, CF34, CF6, and GE90. JAL launched the GE90-115B engine, the world's most powerful engine, on the Boeing 777-300ER.
The GEnx is based on the highly successful GE90 architecture. It will succeed the CF6 engine family, which is GE's most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft.
The GEnx provides significantly better fuel burn and payload performance than GE's CF6 engines. It is the world's only jet engine with a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provides for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed remarkably well on GE90 engines, with no in-service issues for almost a decade.
The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine currently in service. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower NOx levels.
The GEnx is part of GE's "ecomagination" product portfolio--GE's commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
The first full GEnx engine will go to test in 2006, with engine certification scheduled for 2007.
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