Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines has become the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A320neo powered by CFM International’s LEAP-1A engines. The delivery was marked by a private celebration at Airbus facilities in Hamburg, Germany, on July 19th.
“This delivery marks the start of Pegasus’ fleet renewal with the most fuel efficient aircraft incorporating the latest technologies, aerodynamics, engines and a comfortable cabin,” said Mehmet Nane, CEO of Pegasus Airlines. “We have an ambitious expansion strategy and the A320neo will be the backbone of this.”
“Pegasus, Airbus, and CFM are making history together,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “The opportunity to introduce a new engine family into commercial service happens once in a life time for many of us, so this is a very big deal. We are proud that we are sharing this moment with Pegasus. We have been with them from the very beginning and look forward to launching this new era in our relationship. This event also marks another great milestone in our long relationship with Airbus.”
Airbus had selected the LEAP-1A as an option for the A320neo in 2010 and the engine flew for the first time on the A320neo on May 19, 2015. The LEAP-powered A320neo received its Type Certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on May 31, 2016.
The LEAP-1A, which powers the Airbus A319neo, A320neo, and the A321neo aircraft, features some of the industry’s most advanced technologies, including 3-D woven carbon fiber composite fan blades and fan case; a unique debris rejection system; 4th generation three dimensional aerodynamic designs; the Twin-Annular, Pre-Swirl (TAPS) combustor featuring additively manufactured fuel nozzles; ceramics matrix composite shrouds in the high-pressure turbine; and titanium aluminide (Ti-Al) blades in the low-pressure turbine.
The engine will provide operators with double-digit improvements in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s best CFM engine, along with dramatic reductions in engine noise and exhaust gaseous emissions. All this technology is focused on providing better utilization, including CFM’s legendary reliability out of the box; greater asset availability; enhanced time on wing margins to help keep maintenance costs low; and minimized maintenance actions, all supported by sophisticated analytics that enable CFM to provide tailored, predictive maintenance over the life of the product.
