The aviation division of Fairfield conglomerate General Electric Co. finalized a $5 billion deal on Thursday to provide at least 300 jet engines to United Airlines.
The deal was announced as the lucrative Farnborough Airshow in England came to a close, finishing a week in which East Hartford jet-engine builder Pratt & Whitney Co. and other Connecticut aviation firms sealed billions in aerospace contracts.
GE Aviation’s $5 billion order with United Continental Holdings provides advanced LEAP engines for 100 Boeing 737Max narrowbody airplanes and CFM56 engines for 50 Boeing 737-900 aircraft. United’s contract is officially with CFM International, which is GE Aviation’s partnership with French engine designer Snecma.
The $5 billion announcement capped off a week where GE and CFM announced 922 new engine orders for its LEAP engine, totaling $12.6 billion.
The LEAP engine is a direct competitor with Pratt’s PurePower geared turbofan engine Both are vying for a dominant share of the projected $366 billion market for narrowbody aircraft engines over the next decade.
Pratt made its share of announcements during the Farnborough Airshow as well, sealing PurePower deals with the likes of JetBlue, IndiGo, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Cebu Pacific Air of the Philippines. The financial terms for Pratt’s deals were not disclosed.
