Aviation News
- Air China signs aircraft deal with CFM Intl.
Date: 31-Jan-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
FLAGSHIP carrier Air China Ltd. would sign an agreement with CFM International on Tuesday to buy US$345 million worth of aircraft engines from the firm, the official China Securities Journal reported yesterday.
CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co. and France's Safran, would also set up an aircraft maintenance joint venture with Air China, the report said.
CFM International will deliver CFM56-5B engines for 24 Airbus A321 aircraft between 2008 and 2012, it said.
Air China has been CFM's client since 1986 and uses CFM56 engines on more than 100 of its aircraft, the paper said.
Safran, the result of a 2004 merger between Snecma aero engines and phone and fax maker Sagem, in 2006 signed orders of 2,121 CFM56 engines, up from 1,640 engines in 2005, the firm said earlier this month.
Airlines in China - a main battleground for aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing - are enjoying strong traffic growth, but Air China was the only one of China's three top carriers to post a profit for the first half of 2006.
For all of 2006, Air China has predicted net profit will jump at least 50 percent from 2.41 billion yuan in 2005, mainly due to an investment gain in the third quarter.
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