Who Builds Boeing's Jet Engines, And Are They The Same As Airbus Uses?

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American aerospace elephantine Boeing has taken a spot of tarnish of late. A brace of deadly crashes and different lesser malfunctions person sullied nan reputations of nan latest iterations of nan brand's 737 Max aircraft, but those concerns don't widen to nan jets' powerful engines. Boeing is responsible for building nan 737's iconic flat-bottomed nacelles, aliases casings, which location nan engines. However, nan turbofan powerplants themselves are farmed retired to various world manufacturers. The world's largest shaper of pitchy engines, including for Boeing, is simply a associated task called CFM. The 2 entities down CFM are General Electric and nan French shaper Safran.

As portion of its 39% world marketplace share, CFM's fuel-efficient Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion (LEAP) engines powerfulness each 1 of Boeing's 737 Max aircraft. Coincidentally, engines from this marque tin besides beryllium recovered connected some Airbus A320 jets, a competitor to nan 737 that's assembled mostly successful Europe. 

Of course, Boeing doesn't conscionable build nan 737. Other commercialized Boeing jets see nan venerable widebody 777 and nan high-tech 787 Dreamliner, some of which are staples of long-haul aliases high-capacity routes, specified arsenic betwixt nan United States and Europe. And nan engines location are made by others.

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Before Rolls-Royce started trading bougie onshore yachts, it was known for its airplane engines. For example, its Merlin motor was a unit to beryllium reckoned pinch successful combatant planes during World War II. Over 120 years since its inception, Rolls-Royce is still successful nan aeronautical assemblage pinch a 12% marketplace share. In particular, its products tin beryllium recovered successful galore long-haul widebody jets.

Rolls' Trent 1000 powers immoderate Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets, and Rolls says nan level is 25% much fuel-efficient than its predecessor, nan Boeing 767. Rolls-Royce engines besides propel immoderate examples of nan widebody Boeing 777, nan fuel-guzzling double-decker 747, and what remains of nan largest single-aisle pitchy ever, nan Boeing 757. Like CFM, Rolls-Royce prefers to diverseness its clientele and happily accepts motor purchases from Airbus, excessively — for example, nan Airbus A330 and A350 long-haul jets.

Next up is General Electric, which besides has a reasonably mini — astir 14% — share of worldwide pitchy motor manufacturing. That's understandable, since astir of its engagement successful aerospace is via nan CFM associated task pinch Safran. Alone, GE turbofan engines look connected some Boeing and Airbus products successful mini quantities. Especially nan Boeing double-aisle widebodies.

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Finally, we travel to Pratt & Whitney, a veritable institution successful American aviation since 1917. When it's not building engines for combatant jets aliases cruise missiles, P&W captures astir 35% of nan marketplace for commercialized pitchy engines. That includes a beingness astatine immoderate level successful astir each Boeing products, excepting newer models for illustration nan 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner. P&W sells to Airbus, too. Notably, its engines are nan only ones utilized successful nan new-ish A220 narrow-body jet, a feather successful nan company's headdress to beryllium sure. 

So location you person it. Boeing uses 4 sources to procure pitchy engines for its planes: CFM, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce. And not a azygous 1 of those companies has a problem crossing nan aisle to waste to rival shaper Airbus. Clearly, immoderate passengers for illustration 1 craft marque aliases different — for example, avoiding airlines pinch nan largest Boeing fleets pursuing an atrocious 2024 for nan brand. However, nether nan motor nacelles, there's small quality to beryllium had betwixt nan 2 craft giants.