Jet engine manufacturer CFM International sees an opportunity to power the Airbus A320neos of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd-led IndiGo and GoAir through its LEAP engine, the company said on Thursday.

Currently, A320neos of IndiGo and GoAir are powered by engines from Pratt & Whitney, which have witnessed instances of frequent glitches in the recent past.

"There is an opportunity in the Indian market," said Philippe Couteaux, Executive Vice-president, sales and marketing. "In the neos, IndiGo, GoAir have made a choice with the competition but we have a relationship with them as well. They know CFM, they have been knowing CFM for years... they see how the LEAP behaves on paper so there is an opportunity on paper now whether the airline wants to take that step.. it is their prerogative."

The company regularly meets all its customers and hence, met IndiGo and GoAir as well recently, Couteaux added.

CFM International, which is a joint venture between the US-based General Electric and French Safran, already powers Airbus A320ceos (current engine option) of IndiGo and GoAir via its CFM56 engine. However, out of India's current order-book of 1,000 planes, around 400 are A320neos, mostly expected to be powered by CFM's competitor Pratt & Whitney.

On being asked about the engine issues faced by Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320neos and the opportunity available thereby, CFM said that it continues to focus on its commitments and sees India as a strategic market.

"I won't talk about competition. We are focussing on our commitments. We see an attraction (in India). Airlines make the choice. At the time of ordering aircraft... before making the immediate choice of going with the same incumbent.. they always think of what could be the alternative so it's a natural process everytime," the company said on the event of 10-year anniversary of LEAP engines.

The company's current backlog represents seven years of production at current levels on account of 15,450 LEAP engines and 434 CFM56 engines.

While it has planned the production rate of 1,100 LEAP engines in 2018, to be scaled up to 2,000 in 2020, it is still running behind the schedule by up to four weeks.

"We are working closely with Airbus and Boeing to close the gap. We are ramping up production by using dual and multiple sources. In a few months, we will be back to our commitment," the company said.

CFM International, whose first Indian customer of CFM76 engine was Jet Airways (India) Ltd in 1993, currently powers 64 percent of the aircraft in India.

First Published:Oct 11, 2018 10:49 PM IST