General Electric (GE) Aerospace would be keen to provide potential customers of the stretched Airbus A220, known as the A220-500, with an additional engine option.
Speaking to The Air Current at the Paris Air Show, GE Aerospace Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Larry Culp said that the company is considering whether to provide engines for the Airbus A220-500 via its CFM International joint venture with France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.
“I don’t think we would, at this point, rule anything in or out,” added Culp.
Currently, the only engine option for the Airbus A220-100 and A220-300 is the PW1500G, which has been troubling operators with unexpectedly long turnaround times (TAT) during engine shop visits in the past few months.
Meanwhile, CFM International provides engines for the Airbus A320ceo, A320neo, Boeing 737 NextGeneration (NG), 737 MAX, and COMAC C919 aircraft families. The CFM56 powers the older generation aircraft, namely the A320ceo and 737 NGs, while the LEAP family provides propulsion to A320neo, 737 MAX, and COMAC C919s.
Airbus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Guillaume Faury told FlightGlobal in an interview that once the manufacturer would offer the stretched Airbus A220 variant, it “could call for dual-sourcing of engines at the right point in time, if engine manufacturers are ready to go there”. Faury added that providing two options for airlines to pick from is done primarily for strategic and contractual reasons, rather than to reduce supply chain-related risks.
Previously, an Airbus spokesperson confirmed in a statement to AeroTime that the manufacturer will launch the A220-500, saying that the question is “when and not if”.
However, the plane maker’s current priority is ramping up the production rate of the program, and at the same time ensuring that there are no issues with the A220’s supply chain.
