StandardAero has announced plans to start leasing CFM International Leap engines on short-term arrangements for operators undergoing shop visits.
The U.S. engine MRO, which last year became one of the inaugural five members of CFM’s Premier MRO network, said it has contracted engines with several engine lessors to supply airlines and asset managers in its customer base with Leap-1A and -1B engines, which power Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
After signing a non-airline CFM Branded Service Agreement in March 2023 to join the Leap aftermarket network, StandardAero converted its existing facility in San Antonio to focus on quick-turn and performance restoration shop visits for the 1A and 1B variants with two correlated test cells. It ramped up to full Leap capability at the Texas site at the end of last year and looked to relocate other engine product lines out of San Antonio in order to accommodate the Leap.
Will Pitcher, SVP of sales, marketing and customers at StandardAero, said the leasing agreement will allow customers to maximize the operational availability of their aircraft and lead to minimizing the overall cost impact of a maintenance event.
In April, it entered terms with CFM International to accelerate operational efficiency in San Antonio and expand throughput capacity by 2029 to meet a larger than expected wave of shop visits between now and the end of the decade. The GE Aerospace-Safran joint venture anticipates a tripling of Leap maintenance shop visits by the end of the decade.
To prepare its network, StandardAero is also industrializing component repair capabilities for the engine family, and said, to date, it has developed more than 300 Leap component repairs. The company is also training Leap technicians at its in-house training center in San Antonio. Previously, it had been projected to add 100 additional people at the site in 2024. By 2027, it is targeting 400 additional people which will take the total workforce at the location to nearly 1,000 people.
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