A Delta Air Lines DC-8-72 that took to the skies on 24 April 1982 was the first-ever aircraft powered by CFM56 engines.

Since then, CFM International has added seven more engine models that today power more than 20 different commercial and military aircraft types (flown by more than 600 operators world-wide).

The CFM56 fleet recently made aviation history by becoming the first aircraft engine family to achieve one billion engine flight hours.

Gaël Méheust, president and CEO of CFM International, said (www.cfmaeroengines.com): We are obviously very proud that our engines have reached this historic milestone. but we only built the engines.

The credit for this remarkable achievement goes to our customers, who put their trust in us, operating our engines ‘day in’ and ‘day out’.”

The CFM56 fleet reached 500 million hours in November 2010 and subsequently more than doubled that total in just over eight years.

Since the first engines were delivered some 37 years ago, CFM has established a reputation for world-class customer and product support.

There are more than 250 technical service representatives on-site with airlines in more than 50 countries, and more than 40 maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider facilities around the world.