November 16, 2011 - GE Aviation has signed new engine orders and service agreements valued at $11.9 billion at the Dubai Air Show. The company also announced that it would design and build a $120 million engine overhaul facility for Emirates airline in Dubai. 

The orders include a $6 billion engine and service contract to power Emirates? 50 new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with the GE90-115B engines. The company also signed a $1 billion agreement with Cargolux to power its new fleet of Boeing 747-8 freighters with GE?s latest engine technology, the GEnx-B2 engine. 

CFM International, which is a 50/50 joint venture between GE and France?s Snecma, announced that it would sell Republic Airways of Indianapolis, Indiana, advanced LEAP-1A engines to power the airline?s 20 Airbus 319neo and 60 Airbus 320neo aircraft. CFM will also supply Lufthansa with engines valued at $60 million. 

Speed, power and efficiency are some of the key factors that give airlines their competitive edge and determine which engine they buy. The GE90, GEnx, and LEAP are all part of GE?s Ecomagination portfolio. 

For example, the GE90-115B is the largest and most powerful commercial aviation engine ever built. But it?s also been designed to be more fuel-efficient than its competition. General Electric GE90 is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines built by GE Aviation for the Boeing 777, with thrust ratings ranging from 74,000 to 115,000 lbf (329 to 512 kN). It was first introduced in November 1995 on British Airways' 777s, and is available only on the 777. The engine is one of three options for the 777-200, -200ER, and -300, and the exclusive engine of the -200LR, -300ER, and -200F. 

The GE90 was launched in 1990 by GE Aviation associated with Snecma (France), IHI (Japan) and Avio (Italy). Developed from the 1970s NASA Energy Efficient Engine, the 10-stage high pressure compressor develops a pressure ratio of 23:1 (an industry record) and is driven by a 2-stage, air-cooled, HP turbine. A 3-stage intermediate pressure compressor, situated directly behind the fan, supercharges the core. The fan/IPC is driven by a 6-stage low pressure turbine. 

The higher thrust variants, GE90-110B1 and -115B, have a different architecture from the earlier marks of GE90, with one stage removed from the HP compressor (probably from the rear, to increase core size), with an extra stage added to the IP compressor to maintain/increase overall pressure ratio to achieve a net increase in core flow. General Electric did a similar re-staging exercise when they upgraded the CF6 from the -6 to the higher thrust -50. However, this thrust growth route is expensive, since all the downstream components (e.g. turbines) have to be larger (in flow capacity).  

So it is hardly surprising that GE sought (and received) sole engine supplier status with the -115B on the Boeing 777-300ER. The fan is an advanced, larger diameter unit made from composite materials and is the first production engine to feature swept rotor blades. Although the larger fan in itself would produce a higher static thrust, an increase in core size and, thereby core power, was required to improve the net thrust at normal flight speeds.