AeroBD | The AERO news Company…FEB 16, 2016, London : Propelled by the extraordinary surge in demand for single-aisle aircraft, both CFM International, the General Electric-Snecma joint venture, and Pratt & Whitney are in the midst of executing on, or preparing for record years of production.

Despite its recent experience of successive years of major orders for the CFM56—the best-selling commercial jet engine of all time—even CFM appears to have been taken by surprise by continuing interest in the current generation. The bulk of the 2,062 orders taken by late 2015 were for the Leap family, but 687 were for the CFM56. Even though it is imminently due for replacement by the Leap, CFM production continues to climb to all-new levels. More than 1,650 CFM56-5/-7s were assembled in 2015 and production is expected to peak in 2016 at 1,700. Overall orders for the Leap, which will power the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX and Comac C919, are nearing the 10,000 mark, and about 150 Leap-1As and-1Bs, the first of the coming flood, will be delivered in 2016. Production of the Leap engine is set to rise rapidly from 2016 on, reaching over 1,000 engines a year by 2018 and more than 1,800 per year by 2020. The first Leap variant, the -1A for the A320neo, was certificated in November 2015, while the Leap-1B will power the 737 MAX for its maiden flight early this year.

Pratt & Whitney’s grand plan to return to the mainstream commercial engine business reaches a crucial stage in 2016 as the geared turbofan enters service on the A320neo and Bombardier C Series. The PW1100G-powered A320neo was officially certificated in November 2015, while the PW1500G-powered CS100, the first C Series variant, was expected to follow suit near year-end. Flight tests of the PW1900G, the latest variant for the Embraer 190 and 195-E2, began in late 2015 on Pratt’s 747SP flying testbed in Mirabel, Quebec, and are due to wrap up by early 2016. Embraer plans to begin flying the first E190-E2 in mid-2016, with entry into service set for 2018.

Also entering flight testing is the PW1200G-powered Mitsubishi MRJ, which completed its first flight on Nov. 11, from Nagoya, Japan. A version of this engine, the PW1700G, is in development to power the E175-E2 as well, set to enter service in 2020. Pratt is also completing engine-level certification tests of the PW1400G, which will power the Irkut MC-21. The first engine, complete with its Bombardier Belfast-provided integrated propulsion system, was delivered to Irkut in July 2015; the second was delivered by year-end. The nacelle, which comprises systems and a combination of composite and metallic structures, is based on technology developed under the U.K.-funded Environmentally Friendly Engine program. Pratt says total orders for all versions of the geared turbofan now stand at more than 7,000 from more than 70 customers. The company has delivered over 100 engines to date for development, testing and production with approximately 300 more expected to be delivered in 2016 as Embraer, Mitsubishi and Irkut continue development and Bombardier and Airbus enter service.

Large engine-makers General Electric and Rolls-Royce also continue to see historic increases in production levels as widebody manufacturers continue deliveries at record rates. GE’s output of GE90-115s for the Boeing 777 has hit a sustained rate of 200 per year and will see that again for the balance of 2016, though the same rate looks less certain for 2018 onward as Boeing begins transitioning to the 777X. Production of the GEnx-1B/-2B also continues at a high tempo, particularly for the 787 for which GE claims the bulk of the market. Deliveries of both the GE90 and GEnx are expected to remain at around 200 per year for 2016. Including the CFM56, smaller CF34 and larger Boeing twinjet engines, GE delivered around 2,570 commercial engines in 2015 and with the added volume of CFM56 and Leap engines, expects this to reach about 2,750 in 2016.