Akasa Air orders over 300 CFM engines for its new B737 MAX aircraft

Akasa Air has ordered over 300 LEAP-1B engines from CFM International to power 150 B737 MAX aircraft that it ordered from Boeing earlier this month.

Each Leap 1-B engine costs around $15 million. The deal is valued at around $4.5 billion and includes spare engines and a services contract.

Last year, Air India also signed an agreement with CFM International - a joint venture between American company GE and French company Safran - to provide more than 800 LEAP engines for A320neo family planes and B737 Max planes that it ordered in 2023.

Similarly, India’s largest carrier IndiGo purchased LEAP engines in 2021 to power its fleet of A320neo family planes. Airlines with a fleet of Boeing 737 MAX planes have the option of choosing two engine types; either a CFM LEAP-1B or Pratt and Whitney’s (PW) 1000G engine. 

However, airlines that use PW-powered planes have been facing problems for the past several months. Grounded carrier GoFirst had squarely blamed PW for its cash crunch in May last year, stating that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based manufacturer.

In a separate issue with PW, IndiGo in November 2023, said it was grounding over 30 aircraft in the fourth quarter of the ongoing financial year (Q4FY24). This problem arose from a powder metal defect in engines which could lead to component cracking. It meant that IndiGo would have around 80 planes grounded due to issues in PW engines.

Earlier this month, Akasa Air at Wings India Summit 2024 placed an order for 150 B737 Max aircraft with Boeing. This order comprises B737 Max 8-200 and B737 Max 10. These planes will be delivered between mid-2027 and 2032. The new order means that Akasa Air, which launched its operations in August 2022, has ordered a total of 226 Max aircraft from Boeing to date.

Previously, the airline ordered 76 LEAP-1B-powered Max aircraft. Out of these, 22 have been delivered to the airline. The airline expects deliveries of the remaining 54 aircraft by mid-2027.

“This significant, long-term agreement is a testament to the confidence that CFM International has in Akasa Air. With CFM as our long-term engine maintenance provider, we remain confident in our path to becoming one of the top 30 leading airlines in the world, by the turn of this decade,” said Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO, Akasa Air.

Recently, GMR Hyderabad Aviation SEZ Limited (GHASL), signed a Land Lease Agreement with Safran Aircraft Engines Services India, a subsidiary of Safran, to lease land to the latter aerospace company to build and operate an engine MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) facility for LEAP turbofan engines.

The facility will have the capacity to service 100 engines per annum, which will increase to around 300 engines by 2035.