Ten years after it was officially opened, CFM International has expanded the capability of the CFM Training Center in Hyderabad, to include both the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines as the fleet in India continues to grow.
The LEAP-1A entered service in India in February 2017 with Air India, who now operates a fleet of 15 A320neo airplanes. Vistara followed in May 2017 and operates five LEAP-1A-powered A320neos. Jet Airways will be the first airline in the country to introduce the LEAP-1B-powered Boeing 737 MAX later this year. There are currently a total of more than 600 CFM engines in service in India and Southern Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, that power Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
This state-of-the-art training center represents an investment of more than US$15m by CFM over the past decade, including initial start-up costs. The CFM Training Center, which welcomed its first students on March 8, 2010, was the fourth such engine maintenance training center for CFM customers worldwide. The Center has the capacity to train 500 engineers annually and mirrors those in China, France, and the United States.
The Training Center initially provided advanced hands-on courses in line maintenance and bore-scope inspection for CFM56-7B and CFM56-5B engines, which power Boeing Next-Generation 737 and Airbus A320 family aircraft, respectively. In addition to Indian operators, the facility also provides training to students from such near-by regions as the Gulf states, the Middle East, and Far Eastern countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
