Safran's executive vice-president, aerospace propulsion, talks to Andrew Doyle about his company's activities in the Middle East and its plans to increase its presence in both the civil and defence sectors. Ventre took on his current role following stints running Safran subsidiaries Hispano-Suiza, Snecma Services and most recently the entire Snecma division. Snecma is a 50:50 partner with General Electric in the highly successful CFM joint venture, which supplies engines for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-family narrowbodies.
What level of presence does Safran have in the Middle East market?
Safran has been working with the United Arab Emirates since the early 1990s, developing business in the aviation and defence sectors. Since 2002, Safran group has also gained a foothold in the civil sector as a supplier of aircraft engines and equipment, plus security products. To give a few examples, we celebrated the delivery of the 20,000th CFM56 a couple of weeks ago to the low-cost airline FlyDubai. I can also say that seven out of 10 single-aisle jets in the Middle East are powered by CFM56 engines. Three out of four single-aisle aircraft on order in the Middle East region will also use the CFM56.
On the defence side we supply the engine for the Dassault Aviation Mirage 2000-9 fighter and also provide support for this engine. In the helicopter sector, Turbomeca has already delivered 100 turbine engines in the region, including those for 25 Puma helicopters.
Does the fact that the UAE's largest carriers such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways operate mainly widebodies limit your opportunities in the airline sector?
No, there are also narrowbodies. CFM will announce a few orders during the show. We are also a participant in the General Electric GE90, which is the engine flying on the Boeing 777, and we also have participation in the GP7000 flying on the A380s of Emirates. Emirates is the largest customer for the A380.
Do you think there will be more opportunities for narrowbody sales in the future?
It feels like the Middle East is becoming a hub, and that's the reason why there is such demand for widebodied aircraft. They are coming from all over the world and landing at one of the region's airports, such as Dubai. From there, there is a dispatch of passengers, so there is a requirement for short- and medium-range aircraft, which are typically aircraft powered by the CFM56.
Do you have ambitions to grow your presence in the business aviation sector, below the CFM-powered Airbus A318 Elite and Boeing Business Jet?
So far in terms of propulsion we are not yet in that market sector, but we are working to enter this market, specifically with our Silvercrest engine. Nothing will be announced about the Silvercrest during the show, however.
Have you set up joint ventures in the Middle East region?
We have signed a memorandum of understanding with Mubadala to form a joint venture. We will probably confirm that we are going forward with this joint venture. And we are announcing at the show two joint ventures between Baynuna Aviation Technology, Snecma and Sagem.
Are you seeing "power-by-the-hour"-type support deals becoming more popular?
Yes, it's starting to be important for us in the region, of course on the commercial engines. We also provide support for the military engines, such as the M53-P2 engines for the Mirage 2000-9. We are also on the Rafale team competing to supply Rafales to the UAE.
Will you develop a more powerful version of the M88 engine for the Rafale, to boost the fighter's chances in the export market? If so, how will this be funded?
The UAE wants to have a higher thrust engine. Technically speaking, during the course of the development of this engine we have demonstrated the capability of this level of thrust, and we've taken steps to be in a position to develop and deliver this engine according to the requirements of the UAE. The funding is part of the commercial discussion and I cannot comment on that.
Have you held any discussions with Kuwait regarding engines for a possible Rafale export deal?
No, not yet. I think it's too early.
How does your participation at this year's Dubai air show compare with 2007? Have you cut back on attendance?
The Dubai air show is a very important show, and, even though we have somewhat reduced the size of our stand, and like at every air show we are looking very carefully at the number of attendees, the Safran group's participation will be high level.
Source: Flight Daily News