Safran confirms 250 cancellations, deferrals of single-aisle aircraft
18 Feb 2009
Paris: French aerospace major Safran SA said Wednesday it had booked 250 cancellations and deferrals of orders for single-aisle, short-to-medium range, commercial aircraft that would have been powered by CFM56 jet engines.
Safran makes the engines in a joint venture with the American General Electric Co.
Addressing a press conference, Safran chief executive, Jean-Paul Herteman, said that cancellations and postponements had increased in recent weeks, and included major airlines, such as Lufthansa AG and Southwest Airlines which had asked for deferrals.
"It's not unlikely that we will see additional cancellations and postponements in the coming months," he said.
On a the positive side, Herteman noted that these 250 aircraft represented only 8 per cent of its order book for CFM engines, and that the CFM56 order book of 6,600 engines still represented more than five years of production.
Herteman said Safran has identified more than 400 parked and grounded aircraft fitted with CFM engines. This was important as engine maintenance also was a major revenue earner for the company.
Deliveries of engines this year was expected to be in line with last year, totalling between 1,250 and 1,260.
