GOL Airlines becomes first South American operator to order LEAP-1B-powered 737 MAX

Oct. 2, 2012

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – 1 October 2012 — Brazilian low-cost carrier GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. today announced a firm order for advanced LEAP-1B engines to power 60  Boeing 737 MAX airplanes. 

“We are very pleased to continue our long relationship with CFM,” said Paulo Kakinoff, CEO of GOL Airlines.  “The quality and world-class reliability of the CFM56 engine family has been instrumental in helping us grow and to achieve our goals of providing our passengers with the best possible service using safe, modern, fuel efficient airplanes.  Based on our long experience, we expect nothing less from the new LEAP engine and look forward to introducing it into our fleet.”

GOL has been a CFM customer since it began operations in January 2001 and the airline has grown into an agile, innovative airline operating a high-tech fleet of new, modern aircraft.  GOL currently offers more than 810 flights daily on 51 domestic Brazilian routes and 12 international destinations.  Its current fleet consists of 128 CFM56-7-powered Boeing Next-Generation 737-700/-800 aircraft.

“GOL Airline’s current fleet is entirely powered by CFM56 engines, and we are certainly honored that it has entrusted its future single-aisle fleet to the new LEAP engine,” said Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM International.

“We have been with GOL since the very beginning,” said Doug Izarra, sales general manager for CFM at today’s signing ceremony.  “We have built an incredibly strong relationship with the team there and feel that we understand both their concerns, as well as their goals.  LEAP is a truly revolutionary engine and the LEAP-powered 737 MAX will help GOL achieve many of its objectives by providing incredible fuel efficiency, in addition to the industry’s best reliability and world-class cost of ownership. ”

The LEAP-1B engine, which is the result of an exhaustive six-year collaboration effort with Boeing, is the exclusive powerplant for the new 737 variant, with the engine uniquely optimized for the airplane.   The 737 MAX continues a 30-year relationship between CFM and Boeing; CFM engines have been the sole powerplant for all 737 aircraft sold since 1981.

LEAP engines incorporate revolutionary technologies never before seen in the single-aisle aircraft segment.  The new engine combines advanced aerodynamic design techniques, lighter, more durable materials, and leading-edge environmental technologies, making it a major breakthrough in engine technology. 

As a result, operators of the 737 MAX will achieve up to 13 percent lower fuel burn compared to today’s best CFM56-powered 737; an equivalent reduction in carbon emissions; a 50 percent reduction in NOx emissions versus current ICAO CAEP/6 requirements; an engine noise signature well below anticipated regulatory limits; all while maintaining the benefits of CFM’s legendary reliability and low maintenance costs.

About CFM

The LEAP engine family is a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran group) and GE.   CFM is the world’s largest commercial aircraft engine supplier, and the company has delivered approximately 24,000 engines to more than 530 operators around the globe.  The CFM56 fleet has logged more than 600 million flight hours in the past 30 years as the most reliable engines in the air.

About GOL LINHAS AÉREAS INTELIGENTES S.A.

GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (Bovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers around 810 daily flights to 51 destinations in Brazil and 12 in South America and the Caribbean under the GOL and VARIG brands, using a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, the safest, most efficient and most economical of their type. It also offers its clients a further 12 Brazilian destinations through agreements with local regional airlines. In addition, the SMILES loyalty program, the biggest in Brazil, allows members to accumulate miles and redeem tickets to more than 560 locations around the world via flights with foreign partner airlines. The Company also operates Gollog, a logistics service which retrieves and delivers cargo and packages to and from more than 3.400 cities in Brazil and eight abroad. With its portfolio of innovative products and services, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes offers the best cost-benefit ratio in the market.