Photo: LATAM Airlines.
LATAM Airlines Group announced a new order for five Boeing 787 Dreamliners on Wednesday. The South American company also decided to equip the next 787s it receives with GEnx engines by GE Aerospace, shifting from the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines currently powering its widebody fleet.
A new order for LATAM
LATAM Airlines is set to become the largest operator of Dreamliners in South America. Today, it announced an order for five more 787s, which will help the company reach a total of 46 Boeing 787 airplanes.
This number represents an increase of 20 airplanes of the Dreamliner family compared to the pre-pandemic and pre-Chapter 11 fleet of LATAM Airlines. This investment also reinforces the group’s commitment to have one of the region’s most modern and efficient fleets, LATAM said in a statement.
Mike Wilson, vice president of Latin America and Caribbean Sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement,
“The 787 Dreamliner is perfectly suited to support LATAM group’s sustainability and operations goals with its exceptional performance, flexible route capability, and enhanced passenger comfort.”
Meanwhile, Ramiro Alfonsín, LATAM Airlines Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said these actions fully align with the commitment to sustainability and bring LATAM closer to being carbon neutral by 2050.
Changing engines
Perhaps one of the most surprising news of this order is LATAM’s decision to change engines. The company will equip the next Dreamliners it receives with GEnx engines by GE Aerospace.
Ramiro Alfonsín said the incorporation of GEnx engines is a decision that provides greater flexibility and options for the expansion of the long-range fleet. The engine also allows a reduction of 2.2 million pounds of CO2 per aircraft annually.
LATAM Airlines is set to become the first airline in Latin America to utilize the GEnx. Dave Kircher, general manager for the GEnx program, said,
“Most customers, when they select a 787, have an option between a GEnx-1B engine and another engine (in reference to Rolls-Royce Trent 1000). Our engine is at least 1.4% more fuel-efficient [than its predecessor GE engine] for a nominal 787 mission. That equates to $300,000 per airplane per year in fuel savings.”
GE Aerospace lost out in a competition to power part of LATAM Airlines’ passenger air fleet nearly 20 years ago.
Currently, LATAM Airlines Group has 332 aircraft. This includes ten Boeing 787-8s and 23 787-9s. Additionally, it has nine 767-3000ERs for passenger services plus 20 cargo aircraft, ten 777-300ERs, and 256 Airbus narrowbody jets for short and medium-haul operations.
