A new start for THE 737 MAX
After two difficult years, the 737 MAX is back! Boeing restarted deliveries in 2021, more than half of the airplanes grounded since March 2019 have now resumed revenue service and new orders have been recorded. All of this is excellent news for Safran, Boeing’s long-standing partner on the 737 family.
November 2020: 18 months after the 737 MAX was grounded following accidents to Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes, partners in this major program fi nally began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Based on software updates and changes in pilot training procedures, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States removed fl ight restrictions on the MAX. This fi rst mark of confi dence from the American aviation authority was followed by approvals from counterparts in Brazil, Canada and Europe. Boeing could start delivering the 451 airplanes it had stored, and some 387 airplanes parked by operators worldwide could gradually resume service. GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines, partners in engine supplier CFM International, had already been working for months to prepare for the return to service of the LEAP-1B, exclusive powerplant of the 737 MAX.
Throughout the time the plane was grounded, CFM’s customer support staff teamed up with airlines to apply engine safeguard procedures, thus facilitating resumption of operations.
Safran’s contributions to the 737 MAX. For the complete list, go to the “Safran Onboard” section on Insite.
737: MORE THAN HALF OF LEAP ORDERS
“CFM teams had three main objectives,” points out Raphael Cohana, LEAP-1B program manager at Safran Aircraft Engines. “Work with Boeing to deliver the stored aircraft, aid airlines as they returned the planes to service, and provide seamless support. All of our actions helped restore the 737 MAX’s credibility, not to mention that the credibility of Boeing, CFM and Safran was also at stake.” The return to service of this iconic twinjet is of course a top priority for Safran, Boeing’s partner on the 737 for 40 years. The sales success of succeeding generations of the 737, first powered by the CFM56, now by the LEAP, underpins the success of the CFM partnership and therefore of Safran’s aircraft propulsion business. Today, out of some 15,000 orders for LEAP engines, more than half are for the 1B version.
SOUTHWEST REITERATES TRUST
The first carriers to return the MAX to commercial service were GOL Linhas Aereas and American Airlines, in December 2020. However this momentum was halted for a few weeks in March-April 2021 after a potential electrical problem was discovered on the aircraft. But now nothing seems to be able to stop the MAX: in May, Southwest Airlines, a legacy partner of CFM, expressed its trust by placing an order with Boeing for 100 more aircraft. Another major CFM/737 operator, Ryanair, finally took delivery of its first 737 MAX models in mid-June. By mid- June, the MAX had passed the mark of 100,000 flight-hours since returning to service.
LEAP-1B: ALL SYSTEMS GO!
“Everybody is very satisfied with the MAX’s return to service,” notes Jean- Paul Alary, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines. “More than 250 of these planes are now flying regularly, to the great satisfaction of all passengers. The LEAP-1B is performing as expected, and our teams are doing a remarkable job to make sure that the return to service is successful.”
More information on the LEAP-1B
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