LE BOURGET --- Korean Air today placed an order for 60 CFM LEAP-1B engines to power 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The order is valued at $877 million U.S. at list price, including spare engines. 

Korean Air first became a CFM customer in 1998 with an order for CFM56-7B engines to power Next-Generation 737 aircraft. Today, the airline operates a fleet of approximately 60 CFM-powered aircraft. 

The LEAP-1B engine promises to be the most advanced, reliable, fuel-efficient powerplant for the new generation single-aisle aircraft. The engine incorporates many industry firsts, including the 3-D woven carbon fiber composite fan blade and case; the one-of-a-kind debris rejection system; fourth-generation 3-D aerodynamics; the first commercial use of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs); the revolutionary combustor design featuring fuel nozzles grown using additive manufacturing; and light-weight Titanium Aluminide airfoils. 

The lower weight and higher durability these components provide will result in a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency, with an equivalent reduction in CO2 emissions; a 50 percent margin to new emissions regulations; a dramatically lower noise signature; CFM’s industry-leading reliability and low overall operating costs. 


LEAP engines are a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE and the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines. Through May 31, 2015, the company had received orders and commitments for a total of more than 8,900 LEAP engines.