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Vietnam’s VietJetAir today announced it has selected CFM International’s CFM56-5B engine to power 21 firm Airbus A320ceo (current engine option) family aircraft, including 14 A320ceos and 7 A321ceos. The agreement is valued at more than $800 million U.S. at list price; the aircraft order was signed today by Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of VietJetAir and Gaël Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM International. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, VietJetAir has been a CFM customer since it commenced operations in late 2011 with leased CFM56-5B-powered A320 aircraft.
"Based on our experience with CFM to date, the CFM56-5B engine was the natural choice for our new A320ceos,” said Chu Viet Cuong, a member of the Board of Directors of VietJetAir. "CFM has been an integral part of our growth today, and our experience has shown that we can continue to rely on them to a best-in-class combination of economic efficiency, reliability, and time on wing to support our continued growth.“
“We are thrilled to take our relationship with VietJetAir to the next level,” said Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM International. “We have enjoyed getting to know this airline over the past two years and are really looking forward to partnering with them as they continue to build their brand in the region. ”
All of VietJetAir’s new engines will be the CFM56-5B Performance Improvement Package (PIP) configuration. The PIP became the new production configuration for the CFM56-5B in 2011. The improvements, which is providing a 0.5% improvement in fuel burn, include hardware changes to the core, including new high-pressure turbine blade, as well as manufacturing changes the fan and compressor blades and vanes to improve performance retention. The engine maintains the same noise signature as the current production engine and meets current International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Committee of Aviation Environmental Protection standards (CAEP /6) requirements.
About VietJetAir
VietJetAir (vietjetair.com) is the first private airline in Vietnam to be licensed to operate domestic and international flights. The airline initially flew to Vietnam’s three major economic and tourist hubs - Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Hanoi. And airline has continued to expand with new routes to domestic Vietnam and Southeast Asia destinations.
About CFM International
CFM 56-5B engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. CFM (cfmaeroengines.com), the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines, has delivered more than 26,000 engines to date. The CFM56-5B engine powers every model of the Airbus A320 family and has been chosen to power the majority of all A320 family aircraft in service or on order.
Contacts:
Rick Kennedy
T: +1 513-243-3372 / M: +1 513.607.0609
E: rick.l.kennedy[.]ge.com
Giulia Lecarré
T: +33(0)1 69 87 09 29 / M: 33.6.42.40.17.19
E: giulia.lecarrie[.]snecma.fr.
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catherine.malek[.]safran.fr 
