Russia’s UTair Aviation (UTair) has opted for CFM International’s CFM56-5B engine to power its new fleet of Airbus A321 single-aisle passenger jetliners.
Valued at $420m, the engine order follows a long-term contract signed between UTair and Airbus to deliver 20 A321 aircraft in July at the Farnborough International Airshow in England.
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UTair CEO Andrey Martirosov said that the company opted for CFM56-5B after a thorough evaluation of all proposals for its proven reliability, acceptable cost of ownership and fuel efficiency.
The CFM56-5B performance improvement package (PIP) engine maintains the same noise signature as the earlier model, in addition to complying with the current requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection standards (CAEP /6).
Features of the engine include a 0.5% improvement in fuel burn; hardware changes to the core, such as high-pressure turbine blade; manufacturing changes to the fan and compressor blades and vanes, which help in boosting performance retention; and fewer parts that help in reducing maintenance cost.
In order to support its new fleet, the airlines company has also signed a long-term rate per flight hour (RPFH) agreement for 40 CFM56-5B engines, under which CFM has assured a maintenance cost on the basis of a dollar-per-engine flight hour.
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By GlobalDataThe new A321s, which will be configured for 220 passengers, will be used on domestic and international tourist routes.
Deliveries under the new contract are expected to start in 2013.
A CFM client since 2007, UTair currently runs a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft powered by CFM56.
UTair operates about 200 commercial aircraft and its primary hub is the Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, from where it operates about 100 flights every day.
Image: UTair to use its new A321 aircraft on international tourist and domestic flights. Photo: courtesy of UTair.
