GE Aviation extends its profitable CFM International partnership

It's been a good partnership for all concerned, so why not keep it going? Cincinnati-based GE Aviation and France's Snecma will keep their marriage going through at least 2040, agreeing to extend their joint venture, CFM International, at least that long. CFMI is a 50-50 partnership that produces some of the world's most popular jet engines. They just booked orders for 540 new engines during the 2008 Farnborough Air Show in the U.K. and inked a materials and service agreement with Singapore's ST Aerospace. All told, the value of the deals reached a tidy $5 billion. GE Aviation builds the engines' core, which is based on F101 engine developed for the B-1 bomber. GE Aviation continues to drive profits for parent General Electric, generating double-digit profit growth in the latest quarter, thanks to growing global demand for its engines and services.

Writer: David Holthaus
Source: Rick Kennedy, GE Aviation