Korean Air selects GEnx engine to power Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Korean Air announced on December 14 that it has selected the GEnx engine to power its order for 10 firm, 20 option Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The value of the firm engine order is more than $240 million (USD). Engine deliveries begin in 2009.

?E is excited about this opportunity to develop a long-term relationship with Korean Air,?said Scott Donnelly, president of GE - Aviation. ?he GEnx is one of the fastest-selling jet engines in aviation today because of the economics it will bring to the Dreamliner.? ?e are pleased to announce this milestone - a renewed partnership with GE Aircraft Engines,” said Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air. “GE’s proven reliability and efficiency, in addition to the cost advantages of the new engine, were exactly what Korean Air was seeking in our search for a supplier.? With the Korean Air selection, GEnx engines to date have been selected to power 94 firm Boeing 787 aircraft orders. In total, the new GEnx engine has been selected to power more than 220 aircraft. Those GEnx orders are valued at more than $6 billion.

The GEnx is based on the architecture of the highly successful GE90. It will succeed the CF6 engine family, which is GE's most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft.

The GEnx provides significantly better fuel burn and payload performance than GE's CF6 engines. It is the world's only jet engine with a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provides for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed remarkably well on GE90 engines, with no in-service issues for almost a decade. The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine currently in service. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower NOx levels.

The GEnx is part of GE's ?comagination?product portfolio--GE? commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.

The first full GEnx engine will go to test in 2006, with engine certification scheduled for 2007.