AviancaTaca signs agreement with CFM valued at $2.7 billion

AviancaTaca signed a 15-year RPFH (Rate per Flight Hour) agreement to support both the new CFM56 and LEAP engine fleets under which CFM will guarantee maintenance costs on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.

Deliveries of the A320neos are scheduled between 2014 and 2016, while the A320neos will be delivered in the 2017 to 2019 timeframe. The airplanes were originally announced in June 2011.

Avianca has been a CFM customer since 2006 and currently operates a fleet of 66 CFM56-5B-powered Airbus A320 family aircraft. The airline merged with TACA in 2010 to create one of the largest carriers in Latin America, transporting more than 30 million passengers in 2012. The new aircraft will be used for both fleet renewal and growth.

“We picked the LEAP-1A after a very thorough technical evaluation and we believe it is the right engine for our A320neo fleet,” said Fabio Villegas Ramirez, CEO of AviancaTaca. “The fuel efficiency it will bring coupled with the CFM standard for reliability and for maintenance cost, will make it a critical tool in implementing our long-term growth strategy.”

“We are always honored when an airline of this stature continues to put its trust in CFM,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International. “We are looking forward to a great future with this team and to proving that their trust is well placed.”

“This order is a continuation of what has already been a phenomenally good relationship,” said Doug Izarra, vice president of Americas sales for CFM. “We are excited to bring all of the benefits of LEAP technology – double-digit improvements in fuel burn, noise, and carbon and NOx emissions with CFM reliability – to AviancaTaca. We believe these engines will prove to be real assets for the airline.”