Air India signed a firm order for 40 GEnx-1B and 20 GE9X engines, plus a multi-year TrueChoice engine services agreement. The deal was signed in coordination with the airline’s firm order for 20 Boeing 787 and 10 Boeing 777X aircraft.

GE Aerospace has powered Air India since 1982, when the airline took delivery of its first CF6-powered Airbus A300. The airline currently operates a fleet of more than 150 aircraft, including GE90-powered Boeing 777s and GEnx-powered Boeing 787s.

Air India also announced a CFM order for more than 800 LEAP engines, the largest LEAP order ever, to power its entire narrowbody purchase of 210 Airbus A320/A321neo aircraft and 190 Boeing 737 MAX-family aircraft. The announcement includes a multi-year CFM services agreement. CFM is a 50/50 joint business between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.

GE9X

The announcement includes GE and CFM's most technically advanced commercial engines:

• The GE9X, GE's most fuel-efficient turbofan, powers the Boeing 777X family of aircraft. The engine offers NO_x emissions 55% below current regulatory requirements. It is also the quietest GE engine ever produced on a pounds of thrust per decibel basis.

• The GEnx powers the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, has an innovative lean burning twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor that dramatically reduces NO_x and other regulated gases below today’s regulatory limits, offering 15% better fuel burn than the CF6 engine.

• The LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B have accumulated more than 27 million flying hours. LEAP operators are reporting up to a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency and CO₂ emissions compared to the latest production CFM56 engines, resulting in an average of more than 17 million tons of CO₂ emissions reduction.

Like all GE and CFM engines, the GEnx, GE9X and LEAP are compatible with all approved Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blends.

GE Aerospace also provides multiple systems for the Boeing 777X. This includes the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorder (EAFR), the Electrical Load Management System (ELMS) and the Backup Generator, Backup Converter (BUG/BUC) and the Common Core System (CCS). The CCS is often referred to as the “central nervous system and brain” of the airplane and hosts the aircraft’s avionics and utilities functions, eliminating several boxes and reducing hundreds of pounds of wire. GE Aerospace also supplies the CCS and EAFR for the Boeing 787.

GE Aerospace has been operating in India for more than four decades with wide engagement in the industry including engines, avionics, services, engineering, manufacturing, and local sourcing.

Engineers at the John F. Welch Technology Center (JFWTC) in Bangalore, India, GE's research and development center, have played a key role in the technology development of the GE9X, GEnx, and CFM LEAP engines by providing analysis and test validation support. The center has close to 1,000 engineers working to support next-gen technologies to reduce CO₂ emissions.