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Eight GP7200-powered A380s are in service. Emirates
began operating the aircraft August 1, 2008 and
received its seventh A380 in late December 2009.
Air France entered service with the GP7200-powered
A380 on November 20. Other GP7200 customers include
Korean Air, Etihad Airways, Air Austral and International
lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).
The engines have not experienced a single in-flight
shutdown since entering service, according to
an Engine Alliance statement.
“We’re very pleased with the engine’s
performance and reliability in service,”
Engine Alliance President Mary Ellen Jones said.
“It’s the result of continuously testing
these engines under extreme conditions to expose
potential issues and resolve them before they
can become problems. It’s also a tremendous
tribute to the success of this GE-Pratt &
Whitney partnership.”
"We're delighted to be one of the main GP7200
operators,” Emirates Executive Vice President
of Engineering & Operations Adel Al Redha
said. “The in-service experience of the engine
has proven to be meeting the performance and reliability
expectations set by the manufacturers."
The GP7200 is derived from two successful wide
body engine programs, the GE90 and the PW4000.
It benefits from the two programs' latest, proven
technologies and the lessons learned from more
than 25 million flight hours of successful operation.
Certified at 76,500 pounds (340 kN) of thrust,
the engine has the capability to produce more
than 81,500 pounds (363 kN) of thrust. In addition
to being the quietest, most fuel efficient engine
for the A380, the GP7200 engine has emissions
that are well below current and anticipated regulations.
The GP7200 is manufactured at GE and Pratt &
Whitney, with GE manufacturing the high pressure
compressor, combustor and high pressure turbine,
and Pratt &Whitney manufacturing the fan module,
low pressure compressor and low pressure turbine.
Final engine assembly is conducted at Pratt &
Whitney's Engine Center in Middletown, Connecticut.
GP7000 Engine Program participants include SNECMA
(France), Techspace Aero (Belgium) and MTU Aero
Engines (Germany).
The Engine Alliance is a 50/50 joint venture
of General Electric (NYSE:GE) and Pratt &
Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
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