Proven Powerplant Furthers Carrier’s Fleet Modernization

Taiwan-based China Airlines, the state-owned flag-carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), will power its as-of-yet undelivered Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet with the 1B variant of General Electric Aviation’s GEnx (General Electric next-generation) engine.

The announcement followed the air-carrier’s purchase of two 787-9s and six 787-10 wide-body jets at last week’s Paris Air-Show.

In September 2022, China Airlines finalized an order for 16 787-9 airliners.

As part of its fleet modernization efforts, China Airlines reportedly ordered a total of 17 GEnx-1B engines. Notwithstanding the absence of 787s from its extant fleet, China Airlines remains focused on improving its operational efficiency and overall passenger experience—objectives furthered by the integration of Boeing’s efficient and comfortable Dreamliner.

In all, China Airlines has ordered 24 Dreamliners with which the air-carrier plans to replace its aging Airbus A330 fleet. Engined with GE’s GEnx-1B powerplant, the air-carrier’s Boeing’s 787s will produce CO2 emissions on the order of twenty-percent less than the aircraft it replaces.

Quantified monetarily, GE’s GEnx-1B engine will afford China Airlines annual fuel savings of 1.4-percent—an amount equivalent to $300,000 per-aircraft per-year.

China Airlines set forth in a statement: “The GEnx-1B engine plays an important part in our operations. This agreement for engines and services enables us to ensure we are meeting best performance and reliability standards to serve our customers.”

GE Aerospace vice-president of commercial programs Kathy MacKenzie remarked: “We are so grateful China Airlines has selected the GEnx-1B engine for its expanding 787 Dreamliner fleet. This agreement fully demonstrates the airline’s trust in our products and services.”

GE Aerospace asserts its GEnx engine family is history’s fastest-selling widebody jet engine. Currently, upwards of 2,700 units of the advanced, dual-rotor, axial-flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine are in service globally. In addition to Boeing’s 787 aircraft family, GE’s GEnx engine powers the plane-maker’s 747-8—the swansong of Boeing’s storied 747-dynasty. Since entering service in 2011, GEnx engines have logged nearly fifty-million flight hours.

FMI: www.geaerospace.com