National Air Services Places $620 Million CFM56-5B Engine Order Airbus
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Le Bourget, National Air Services (NAS) today announced
that it has selected CFM International's CFM56-5B engine to power 20
firm Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The aircraft are scheduled for
delivery between 2012 and 2016 and the order is valued at $620 million
U.S. at list price including a service and support agreement. The
airline is scheduled to take delivery in 2012 and 2013
Together with the engine selection, NAS also signed an eight-year Rate
per Flight Hour (RPFH) agreement to provide comprehensive maintenance
service for the fleet under which CFM will guarantee maintenance costs
on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.
"We are so pleased that NAS has chosen to remain with the CFM56-5B
engines for its purchased fleet," said Jean-Paul Ebanga, President and
CEO of CFM. "We have established a great relationship with them in a
relatively short time and we look forward to working more closely with
them through the RPFH agreement to service and support this growing
fleet."
NAS, currently operating through its low-cost carrier nasiar from its
base in Riyadh, was formed in 2007 and has since grown to operate more
than 450 flights per week to more than 30 domestic and international
destinations. The airline currently operates a fleet of nine leased
CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320 aircraft.
All of NAS's new engines will be the CFM56-5B Performance Improvement
Package (PIP) configuration. The -5B PIP completed extensive ground
testing and more than 26 hours of flight testing on the A320. The
engine, which will become the new production standard, is on schedule
for certification and entry into service by the end of 2011.
The improvements, which provide a 0.5% improvement in fuel burn, include
hardware changes to the core, including new high-pressure turbine
blade, as well as manufacturing changes the fan and compressor blades
and vanes to improve performance retention. The engine will maintain
the same noise signature as the current production engine. These engines
also meet current International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection standards (CAEP /6)
requirements.
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