Story ID: 347
CFM Prepares Leap Support Network
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Increasing time on wing means engines need a robust support network that can act fast. CFM is preparing to provide that for Leap engines.
Word Count: 179

CFM International (Outdoor Exhibit 22) is preparing its support network for the entry into service of its new Leap series of engines with six customers this year. Within three years, it expects 50 airlines to have taken delivery of airplanes powered by the engine series chosen for the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 Max and Comac C919. “We are right where we want to be,” said CFM executive vice president and general manager François Bastin at a pre-Farnborough press briefing. “We’re not bragging. We’ve tested this engine inside and out.”

Increasing “time on wing” perhaps represents the biggest concern, according to the company; learning the differences in operational profiles among the various customers and training them on the maintenance tasks will go a long way to ensuring the new engine performs as well as the legacy CFM56, some 1,700 of which it plans to deliver this year.

“We want to be prescriptive,” said CFM executive vice president Allen Paxson, who stressed the importance of analytics to the company’s ability to prescribe maintenance recommendations.