Major aircraft engine manufacturer International Aero Engines (IAE) launched its new engine into commercial service with no-frill Indian carrier IndiGo, claiming it would enable considerable saving of jet fuel and reduce costs.
IndiGo's Airbus A-320 aircraft, fitted with the brand new V2500 Selectone engines, have been put on sectors like Jaipur-Ahmedabad, Jaipur-Chennai (via Mumbai) and Jaipur- Guwahati (via Kolkata) as well as between Ahmedabad and Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata.
"These engines will reduce fuel burn and lead to savings of about Rs four lakh per month per aircraft," IndiGo CEO Bruce Ashby told reporters here. The IAE claims its Selectone engines deliver "an additional one per cent fuel burn advantage."
IndiGo had placed the single largest order for the V2500 engines along with its 100 Airbus A-320 aircraft order in 2005. The value of the IAE engine deal alone was USD 1.7 billion at list prices.
Ashby said his airline required "world class and dependable" engines to power its fleet to perform on time.
US-based IAE's Vice President (Customer Business) Ian Aitken said his company was a market leader in India with "over 80 per cent of the A-320 fleet in service or on order with Indian carriers being powered by the V2500 engines."
{{/usCountry}}US-based IAE's Vice President (Customer Business) Ian Aitken said his company was a market leader in India with "over 80 per cent of the A-320 fleet in service or on order with Indian carriers being powered by the V2500 engines."
{{/usCountry}}As on date, IAE, with its engine orders, would power over 285 aircraft in India alone.
While the IAE engines power 84 per cent aircraft delivered to Indian carriers so far, its V2500 engines would be fitted on to 82 per cent of the aircraft to be delivered. It competes with another major engine manufacturer, CFM, the company Vice President said.
"IAE has 170 customers across 56 nations with over 3500 engines in service. It is estimated that one aircraft with V2500 engines takes off or lands in any part of the world every three seconds," Aitken claimed.
The US-based IAE is a 25-year old multinational aero engine consortium whose shareholders comprise Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation and MTU Aero Engines.
Observing that his company had served the Indian market for over 25 years, including the A-320 fleet of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, he said the new engines could be fitted on to the A-319s, A-320s and A-321s, which were in the process of being acquired by Indian carriers including the state-owned carrier.
Asked whether IAE was interested in pursuing investment opportunities in India to establish jet engine shops, Aitken said, "we are always looking at such opportunities", but the existing manufacturing units were enough for the moment to take care of 2,000-engine order backlog.