GE Aerospace's GEnx commercial engine achieves 2 million flight hours with South Asian airlines
Sep 25, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 25 : GE Aerospace on Wednesday announced that its GEnx commercial aviation engine achieved two million flight hours with South Asian airlines.
The first GEnx was delivered in the region in 2012 with 90 GEnx engines now powering Air India, Vistara and Biman Bangladesh flights.
"The GEnx engine has been instrumental in supporting South Asia's aviation growth. This milestone is a testament to its engineering excellence and technology maturity," said Mahendra Nair, Group Vice President for Commercial Program at GE Aerospace, during a visit to New Delhi.
"We continue to support our customers' business goals, with our best technology and services offerings," he added.
"We are proud of our long relationships with the South Asian airlines, including most recently Air India as it plans expansion of operations with 20 new wide-body aircraft that will be powered by 40 GEnx engines," said Vikram Rai, South Asia Chief Executive Officer, GE Aerospace.
Airlines worldwide powering Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8, the GEnx engine showcases a leap forward in propulsion technology.
The engine's superior performance contributes to reduced operating costs and a lower carbon footprint, aligning with the global aviation industry's sustainability goals by making it 15 percent more fuel-efficient and emitting up to 15 percent less CO2 than its predecessor, the CF6 engine.
The GEnx engine is a product of decades of operational knowledge and experience, derived from the GE90 engine. With its innovative twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor, the engine significantly reduces nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by up to 60% below current regulatory limits.
In March 2023, the GEnx engines powered the first wide-body aircraft on a long-haul route to India using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Vistara's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flew from Charleston, South Carolina, to New Delhi on a blend of 30 percent SAF with conventional jet fuel.
GE Aerospace continually monitors its GEnx commercial engines in service and uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) driven models to increase the number of conditions that can be monitored with even greater accuracy.
GE Aerospace's AI-enabled Blade Inspection Tool (BIT) guides the selection of Stage 1 and 2 High Pressure Turbine engine blade images in GEnx commercial engine for technicians to inspect for faster, more accurate inspections. This helps in obtaining consistent images, a key input to building predictive models.
GE Aerospace has been a partner to India's aviation industry for over forty years. Thirteen hundred GE Aerospace and partner engines are in service, powering major Indian airlines. GE Aerospace's defense engines and systems power Indian Airforce's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk 1, helicopters and Indian Navy's aircraft carrier battleships and frigates.