Nov 19 2013
At Sunday’s opening day of the Dubai Air Show, GE Aviation received $26 billion (USD list price) in jet engine orders and services agreements for wide-body Boeing aircraft from three leading airlines in the Middle East.
Collectively, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways ordered 450 of the new GE9X engine now under development for the new Boeing 777X. GE also received orders for GEnx engines for the Boeing 787 and GE90 engines for the Boeing 777. The airline engine orders:
EMIRATES:
With the commitment by Emirates airlines for 150 Boeing 777X twin-engine aircraft, GE Aviation has secured its largest ever commercial jet engine award from an airline.
Among the world’s fastest growing airlines, Emirates has committed to acquiring 300 GE9X engines for its new 777X fleet. The agreement for the GE9X engines is worth more than $11 billion (USD) list price.
Emirates is already the world’s largest operator of the highly successful GE90-powered Boeing 777-300ERs, with a fleet of 135 aircraft. Emirates also operates the largest fleet of A380s powered by the GP7200 engine produced by the Engine Alliance, a joint company of GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney.
But the relationship between GE Aviation and Emirates over the past decade has extended beyond the delivery and support of jet engines. GE has been integral to the construction of Emirates’ expanding engine overhaul capability both in the Middle East and Asia.
“We are pleased to expand upon our strong relationship with GE Aviation for this 777X aircraft order of great strategic importance to our airline,” said H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline & Group.
“The confidence placed by Emirates in GE Aviation is almost overwhelming,” said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. “Emirates is critical in enabling GE to demonstrate and improve upon its high-thrust engine technologies. The success in service of the GE90-powered 777-300ER paved the way for the industry’s enthusiasm for the GE9X-powered 777X. And Emirates has been there for the whole remarkable journey.”
Selected earlier this year to power the Boeing 777X, the GE9X will feature several technology breakthroughs, including aviation’s largest-diameter front fan and highest pressure-ratio compressor, and unique ceramic matrix composite, hot-section components.
ETIHAD:
Etihad Airways selected GE engines to power its order for 56 Boeing wide-body aircraft. The order includes a commitment for 25 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X, 30 GEnx-1B-powered Boeing 787-10, and one GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The list price for these engines is valued at more than $3 billion (USD).
Etihad Airways has also agreed to 15-year OnPointSM solution agreements to cover all the engines in this order. The OnPoint solution agreements are valued at $8 billion over the life of the contract.
“This order demonstrates Etihad Airways’ commitment to operating one of the most technically advanced and fuel efficient fleets in the industry, now and in the future,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive. “Our business succeeds by establishing long term strategic partnerships to ensure we can offer our customers the best. This deal allows us to do that.”
“We are honored Etihad has selected GE to play a significant role in the airline’s expansion efforts,” said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation. “GE’s wide-body engine strategy builds on the solid foundation that we began with our GE90 engines, was advanced with new technologies in the outstanding GEnx and will evolve further with the new GE9X engine, which will be the largest fan diameter and most fuel efficient engine GE has ever designed and manufactured.”
QATAR:
Qatar Airways ordered 50 GE9X-powered Boeing 777X aircraft. List price for these engines is valued at $3.8 billion (USD).
“Qatar Airways continues its rapid growth and GE is proud to play a significant role in the expansion with this order for GE9X-powered Boeing 777X aircraft,” said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation. “The new GE9X engine will be the largest and most fuel efficient engine GE has ever designed and manufactured and the rising number of orders for the engine-aircraft combination serve as a testament to the confidence our customers have in the product.”
The GE9X engine for Boeing's 777X aircraft will be in the 100,000-pound thrust class with a 10 percent improvement in fuel burn over today's GE90-115B. Key features include: the industry’s largest front fan, composite fan case and fourth-generation composite fan blades, highest pressure ratio compressor for any large GE engine, third-generation TAPS (twin annular pre-swirl) combustor for greater efficiency and low emissions, and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material in the combustor and turbine.
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 128 aircraft to 133 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas. Qatar Airways recently joined the oneworld Alliance, becoming the only major Gulf carrier to join a global airline alliance, enabling its customers to benefit from almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over US$50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A380 and A320 family of aircraft. For more information, visit www.qatarairways.com.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet, turboprop and turboshaft engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.