Cathay Pacific selects GE for Boeing order

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific Airways ordered 21 GE9X-powered Boeing 777-9X. This order makes Cathay Pacific the first customer in the Asia-Pacific region to select the new GE9X, which is part of the GE90 engine family.

 

Cathay Pacific also signed a 15-year OnPoint solution agreement to cover the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the GE9X engines.

 

"Cathay Pacific's commitment to the GE9X engine is a demonstration of its confidence in our new wide-body engine technologies," said David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation. "The new GE9X-powered Boeing 777X family will offer tremendous benefits in performance and fuel efficiencies, and we look forward to working with Boeing to design one of the best wide body aircraft offerings for our customers."

 

Since Boeing selected the GE9X engine to power its new 777X family in March, more than 550 GE9X engines have been ordered by five customers: Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific. The engine orders are valued at more than $21 billion list price.

 

The GE9X engine for Boeing's 777X family will be in the 100,000-lb thrust class with a 10% 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.

 

Cathay Pacific subsequently ordered three GE90-115B-powered 777-300ERs and one GEnx-2B-powered 747-8 Freighter. Cathay Pacific also signed a 15-year OnPoint solution agreement to cover the maintenance, repair and overhaul of these engines.

 

At 115,000 lb of thrust, the GE90-115B engine includes such performance-enhancing features as three-dimensional aerodynamic (3-D aero) compressor and wide-chord, swept composite fan blades for greater efficiency. The dual annular combustor emits no more than 40% of the hydrocarbons allowed by today's international standards. More than 1,500 GE90-115B engines have been ordered by customers for their Boeing 777-300ER, 777-200LR, and 777 Freighters.

 

Snecma of France and IHI Corporation of Japan are revenue-sharing participants in the GE90 program.

 

The GEnx engine family is the fastest-selling engine in GE Aviation history with more than 1,300 engines on order. The GEnx's twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor reduces NOx gases as much as 55% below today's regulatory limits and other regulated gases as much as 90%. Based on the ratio of decibels to pounds of thrust, the GEnx is the quietest engine GE produces due to the large, more efficient fan blades that operate at a slower tip speed, resulting in about 40% lower noise levels.

 

Revenue-sharing participants on the GEnx are IHI Corporation of Japan, GKN Aerospace Engine Systems of Sweden, MTU of Germany, TechSpace Aero of Belgium, Snecma (SAFRAN Group) of France, and Samsung Techwin of Korea.

 

OnPoint solutions are customized service agreements tailored to the operational and financial needs of each customer for any size fleet. These agreements are designed to help lower the customers' cost of ownership and maximize the use of their assets. Backed by GE's global support network, OnPoint services may include overhaul, on wing support, new and used serviceable parts, component repair, technology upgrades, engine leasing, integrated systems support and diagnostics and integrated systems.