Fifty years ago, GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines (then Snecma) formed CFM International, a unique transatlantic partnership that would redefine commercial aviation – and become the industry’s most successful joint venture. Today, CFM is the world’s leading supplier of commercial engines, and its products set the industry standards for reliability, durability, efficiency, and asset utilization.
The company was founded on an ambitious vision: to develop a high-bypass turbofan that that would offer such big improvements in fuel efficiency, emissions and noise, that no one could ignore it. By investing in technologies before they were needed, the company has continually delivered on this promise.
“Fifty years ago, two extraordinary men, Gerhard Neumann and René Ravaud, shared both a bold vision and the courage of their convictions that they could change the way that people fly. Today, we are celebrating the thousands of men and women, past and present, who made that vision a daily reality through their continuous commitment to customers around the world,” said Gaël Méheust, president and CEO of CFM International.
The two companies initially developed the CFM56 product line that would go on to become the best-selling aircraft engine in commercial aviation history. The engine family brought operators industry-leading reliability, fuel efficiency, lower noise and emissions, and overall cost of ownership.
In 2008, CFM launched the advanced LEAP engine family, and it has proven to be a more-than-worthy successor to the CFM56 product line.
In service, the LEAP engine family is setting a new industry standard for fuel efficiency and asset utilization as the fleet achieves one of the fastest accumulations of flight hours in commercial aviation history, amassing more than 60 million engine flight hours and 26 million flight cycles since August 2016.
LEAP engines provide 15 to 20 percent better fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, as well as a significant reduction in noise compared to previous generation engines. Since its entry into service, the LEAP engine has allowed our customers to save more than 35 million tons of CO2 compared to the same flights operated using aircraft powered by previous generation engines.
The RISE program, first unveiled in 2021, is one of the aviation industry’s most comprehensive technology demonstration programs. Through the RISE program, CFM is advancing a suite of pioneering technologies, including advanced engine architectures like Open Fan, compact core, and hybrid electric systems to be compatible with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). RISE program goals include improving fuel efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions by at least 20 percent compared to the most efficient commercial aircraft engines in service today.
“The work happening today on test rigs and with research partners around the world represents an unprecedented level of new technology development in CFM’s history,” Méheust, said. “As CFM celebrates its 50th anniversary, we are acting on our clear ambition to make air transport more sustainable. With the RISE program, CFM will, once again, change the way that people fly.
“CFM has accomplished much in the past 50 years, but we believe there is so much more that we can offer. Together, this extraordinary team will ensure that CFM remains the power of flight for the next 50 years and beyond.”
This article first appeared as a news release here. Learn more about the RISE program here.
CFM International is a 50-50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
