Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings has signed an agreement with
GE Aviation to purchase GEnx-2B engines for its four Boeing 747-8 freighters, along with a 20-year TrueChoice Overhaul agreement that covers the time and material required to overhaul the GEnx-2B engines. The agreements are worth more than $800 million list price over the life of the service agreement.
John Dietrich, Atlas Air Worldwide’s president and CEO, said: “The 747-8F powered with GEnx engines gives us the best and most versatile widebody freighter in the market. Our partnership with GE Aviation supports our longstanding focus on leading-edge technology.”
Customers have ordered more than 2,500 GEnx engines, making it the fastest-selling high-thrust engine in GE’s history. With the most advanced technologies and materials, the GEnx is said to offer the lowest fuel burn and longest range of any engine in its thrust class. Its lean-burning twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor dramatically reduces ‘NOx and other regulated gases’ below current regulatory limits.
Moreover, this engine is ‘the world’s first commercial type’ with both a carbon fiber composite front fan case and fan blades. This use of composites ensures that the GEnx fan module is not only lighter than ‘conventional’ types but also corrosion resistant. It is also the quietest engine that GE produces.
GEnx’s revenue-sharing partnerss are: IHI Corporation (Japan); GKN Aerospace Engine Systems (the UK); MTU (Germany); TechSpace Aero (Safran) (Belgium); Safran Aircraft Engines (France); and Samsung Techwin (Korea).