GE Rides Record Backlog into Farnborough 2018

Carrying an industrial backlog of engines and services contracts worth $200 billion, GE Aviation enters the Farnborough Airshow intent on building on its already broad commitments in commercial aviation while expanding its footprint in the military sector. This week at the show, GE and its partner companies expect to add to their backlog of orders and commitments covering more than 15,000 commercial engines, including the GE9X for the Boeing 777X and CFM Leap for the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max. Meanwhile, rising U.S. defense science and technology budgets have prompted GE Aviation in the past two years to transfer more than 750 engineers to a growing portfolio of military development programs, including fighter and turboshaft engines.

One of two engine choices for the Airbus A320neo, the Leap-1A entered service in 2016, while the Leap-1B exclusively powers the Boeing 737 Max, which entered service last year. In the most aggressive engine production ramp-up in airline history, CFM partner companies GE Aviation and Safran already have delivered some 1,000 Leap engines.

All told, GE Aviation and its partner companies expect to deliver up to 2,900 commercial jet engines in 2018, adding to the 35,000 already in service. By 2020, they expect to have delivered 39,000 engines, the vast monitored and diagnosed by the GE-developed Predix cloud-based maintenance platform.

A growing installed base drives GE Aviation’s service business, as engine shop visits grow from 5,500 this year to a projected 6,700 by the decade’s end. ”The aviation industry has entrusted GE Aviation to deliver an extraordinary scope of technology over the next several years,” said GE Aviation CEO David Joyce. ”We are ever mindful and laser-focused during this critical execution phase.”

GA Aviation's new commercial and military engines have served as platforms for breakthroughs in new material systems such as ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components and additive manufacturing. The company has opened what it calls the first fully integrated supply chain in the U.S. to produce CMCs, including the opening earlier this year of the new Huntsville, Alabama, plant that produces raw materials. GE’s plant in Auburn, Alabama, this year plans to produce 34,000 components for the Leap engine from more than 40 additive machines.