Saudi Arabian Airlines, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, has signed an exclusive 10-year materials agreement with GE Aviation Services.

The deal covers the airline’s entire fleet of 100 purchased and leased CFM56-5B engines powering its Airbus A320 fleet. 
 
Under the terms of the agreement, which is valued at approximately $300 million, Saudi Arabian Airlines will exclusively use genuine CFM parts in the maintenance and overhaul of this fleet, a statement said.
 
Saudi Arabian formalised the agreement to purchase 22 aircraft recently and plans to lease an additional 28 CFM56-5B-powered A320 aircraft.  The airline is scheduled to receive the first of these airplanes in the third quarter of 2009, with deliveries continuing through late 2012.
 
Engineer Khalid Almolhem, director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, said: “We very much look forward to the introduction of our CFM56-5B fleet, and enjoying best-in-class reliability and maintainability, and for Saudi Arabian Airlines and GE implementing successfully this strategic agreement.”
 
“We are very happy to expand the relationship between GE and Saudi Arabian Airlines to encompass the CFM56 product line,” said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. “This materials agreement will help enable the airline to maintain its fleet with original CFM quality parts and comprehensive support.”
 
All of Saudi Arabian's CFM56-5B engines are the Tech Insertion configuration, which is an example of GE's "ecomagination" product focus - a commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.
 
This technology provides operators with a 1 percent improvement in fuel consumption over the life of the product, compared to the base CFM56-5B engine. This lower fuel consumption will also lower CO2, reducing these emissions by 200 tons per aircraft per year. Improved analytic design tools have also enabled CFM to further optimize the Tech Insertion combustor so that it will provide 25 percent lower NOx emissions, the statement said.

GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company, is a world-leading provider of commercial and military jet engines and components as well as integrated digital, electric power, and mechanical systems for aircraft. –TradeArabia News Service