OREANDA-NEWS. Transaero Airlines has selected Engine Alliance GP7200 engines to power its four Airbus A380 aircraft. Transaero has also agreed to a 12-year Fleet Management Agreement to cover the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the engines. The engine and Fleet Management Agreement is valued at more than USD 500 million over the life of the agreement.

The contract between Transaero Airlines and Engine Alliance was signed on August 29, 2013, within the framework of Moscow’s MAKS-2013 Airshow program.

Alexander Krinichansky, Executive Director of Transaero, said “We are very pleased to have selected the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine to power our new fleet of A380 aircraft. The GP7200 offers us outstanding value with superior fuel efficiency, reliability and low cost of ownership.”

The delivery of the A380 aircraft starting in 2015 will not only be one of the major milestones in Transaero’s history but also for the entire Russian civil aviation market. Transaero is already the largest operator of wide-body aircraft in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. The acquisition of the A380 was a strategic decision aimed at improving service on high density routes. The planned passenger capacity of the aircraft will be 640-650 seats, including 12 seats in first-class and 24 in business class.

“We are delighted Transaero selected the GP7200 engines to power its A380 fleet and appreciate the airline’s confidence in our engine. Transaero Airlines will be the first GP7200 engine operator and the first A380 operator in Russia, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Eastern Europe,” said Dean Athans, president of the Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture of GE Aviation (NYSE:GE) and Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX). “Transaero is an outstanding and fast-growing airline in Russia, and we look forward to working with them well into the future.”

The GP7200 is manufactured at GE and Pratt & Whitney, with GE manufacturing the high pressure compressor, combustor and high pressure turbine, and Pratt & Whitney manufacturing the fan module, low pressure compressor and low pressure turbine. Final engine assembly is conducted at Pratt & Whitney’s Engine Center in Middletown, Connecticut. GP7200 Engine Program participants include SNECMA (France), Techspace Aero (Belgium) and MTU Aero Engines (Germany).

The GP7200 is the result of innovations to the combined technologies of its member companies’ most successful wide-body engines: the GE90 and the PW4000. The GP7200 utilizes the lessons learned from more than 51 million flight hours of successful operation with these legacy engines and incorporates new technology to produce the quietest, most fuel efficient engine for the A380. The GP7200 is certified at 76,500 pounds (340 kN) of thrust and has the capability to produce more than 81,500 pounds (363 kN). Its emissions are well below current and anticipated regulations.

The GP7200 entered revenue service in 2008 with Emirates and has proven to be the more fuel-efficient engine for the Airbus A380. There are now 49 GP7200-powered A380 aircraft in service with Emirates, Air France and Korean Air. The GP7200 engine has also been selected by Transaero Airlines, Air Austral, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.