Jon Beatty is a man on a mission – to tell the aviation world about IAE’s latest product, V2500Select, an aftermarket offering linked with new SelectOne build-standard developments on the engine.
As president and CEO of IAE, it’s natural that Beatty should be crowing about V2500Select providing a 1% improvement in fuel burn, coupled with a 4% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 20% increase in time-on-wing. He is also claiming there is an overall 4% difference on the plus side between the IAE engine and the alternative CFM56.
The development programme, he says, will involve three engines, one measuring performance and operating parameters (100 hours at MTU in Germany); a second looking at stress and telemetry at P&W’s East Hartford facility; and a third examining endurance and performance. Certification is expected at the end of the year, following flights on a Boeing 747 testbed aircraft in the late summer. Entry into service (EIS) is expected towards the end of 2008.
Any airline ordering the V2500 engine for delivery after 2008 can opt for the V2500Select version of the engine and, according to Beatty, that’s what customers are doing. “Sales are really good and we now have around 50% of the market on the A320. Airbus has increased its production schedule and we have too, up to one engine a day, which will equate to more than 400 a year.”
Backlog
IAE currently has a backlog of 1,500 engines and the company now has around 3,000 engines in service. It will also be possible for airlines to elect to retro-fit the V2500Select kit that will bring their engines up to the new standard.
Customers currently signed up for V2500Select (and therefore the SelectOne build standard) since launch include: IndiGo (launch customer); Volaris; Jetstar; Mexicana; Adria Airways; Air Deccan, GATX; Wizz Air; Sichuan Airlines; Tiger Airways; TAM; China Southern; Spirit; and Jetblue.
Of this list, all have opted for the combined aftermarket package and product upgrade except for Jetblue which agreed commercial terms for just the product upgrade.
Source: Flight Daily News
