GEnx Engine To Power Qantas’ 787 Dreamliner Fleet

EVENDALE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Qantas Group has selected the GEnx engine as the powerplant for its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet of up to 115 aircraft.
The initial order is for 90 installed engines. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2008.
“This selection of the GEnx engine to power Qantas’ 787 fleet is exciting news for our business,” said Scott Donnelly, president and CEO of GE Aviation. “We look forward to working with the airline to ensure the entry into service of the GEnx-powered 787 aircraft is flawless.”
The GEnx began flight-testing on GE’s 747 flying testbed last week and has been undergoing ground tests since March 2006. Engine certification is scheduled for September 2007.
The GEnx engine will power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8 Intercontinental and Freighter aircraft.
Based on the highly successful GE90 architecture, the GEnx engine will succeed GE’s CF6 engine family, which is the most reliable and best-selling engine on wide-body aircraft. It provides significantly better specific fuel consumption and payload performance than GE’s CF6 engines.
The GEnx engine is the world’s only jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provide for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed extremely well, with no routine on-wing maintenance required and no in-service issues for more than a decade.
The GEnx is part of GE’s “ecomagination” product portfolio--GE’s commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers’ environmental and operating performance.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft. GE also is a world-leading provider of maintenance and support services for jet engines.
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