CFM International's bid to power the A318 is expected to be decided shortly, says president Gerard Laviec.
The engine maker has offered the CFM56-5A or -5B to Air France as an alternative to the incumbent Pratt & Whitney PW6000, but talks with Airbus Industrie have stalled over financial arrangements for the proposal. "We are in the process of discussing with Airbus ways of getting a sound economical solution which we have not yet found," says Laviec.
CFMI is fighting for a place on the A318 after initially losing out to the PW6000, its first loss on any Airbus single-aisle programme. CFMI then revived its bid, following pressure from Air France, which wants to maintain commonality between its planned fleet of A318s and its A320 family. Before it can formally offer Air France the engine option, however, CFMI must first agree on a certification plan with Airbus.
P&W is also pursuing the Air France requirement in the hope of preventing CFMI gaining a foothold on the programme. P&W president Louis Chênevert says: "We have had substantial discussions with Air France on the PW6000 for the A318 and we are working with them and Airbus to bring this to a resolution within weeks." Chênevert believes "the economics of our powerplant will overcome issues of commonality".
Chênevert strongly rejects claims that P&W has to supply engines free of charge to Airbus for the certification and development process to secure its place on the A318, and make a subsequent bid from CFMI hard to match.
Chênevert adds that P&W has been able to lower the price of the new engine thanks to dramatic cost-cutting measures instituted on the PW6000 as part of a company-wide production initiative called the Module Center. As a result, the "buy-to-fly" ratio of the PW6000 (i.e, the costs associated with materials from development to certification) are 4:1 versus 8:1 on previous engines.
Source: Flight International
