Indian signs final agreement for 'CFM56-5B' engine

Chennai, Feb 24 (UNI) Indian, formerly Indian Airlines, has signed the final agreement with CFM International for the purchase of CFM56-5B engine to power its new fleet of 43 A320 family aircraft, scheduled for delivery between late 2006 and 2010.

The engine order was valued at more than 500 million dollars at list price and the engines were produced by CFM International, a joint venture company between Snecma and General Electric Company, a CFM release here said.

Indian ordered the new batch of 43 aircraft as part of a fleet expansion and renewal programme. The airline recently took delivery of the leased CFM56-5B powered A319s, making it the first A319 operator in the country. The engines were completely interchangeable, providing maximum flexibility to Indian.

''We are extremely gratified that Indian has reposed confidence in the CFM56-5B engine. ''We believe that the engines will bring high reliability and performance and we are extremely pleased to be partners of Indian'', Mr Nam Tran, Regional Sales Director, CFM International said.

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