KAREN WALKER / NEW YORK
GE chairman Jeff Immelt and GE Aircraft Engines president David Calhoun have stated their certainty that Boeing will launch the 7E7 into production, but have warned that a three-way engine battle as witnessed on the Boeing 777 should not be repeated.
"The 777 proved to all of us that three engine suppliers was a bad deal," says Calhoun. "On the 7E7 it will be GE and somebody else."
Immelt adds that the 7E7 is "a must for Boeing" and that demonstrated technology will be the deciding factor for winning a place on the 7E7, whether as an exclusive supplier or as one of two competing engine providers.
Calhoun does not rule out the possibility of GE teaming with another manufacturer for the 7E7 engine, as it has done with Pratt & Whitney for the Airbus A380's GP7200 engine, but says this is unlikely.
The requirement is for a 60,000-70,000lb (267-311kN)-class turbofan, with significantly lower fuel consumption, noise and emissions than engines powering today's Airbus A330s and Boeing 767s.
Source: Flight International
