Gulf Air and CFM International (a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines) signed an agreement at the show for the purchase of 58 LEAP-1A engines to power 17 Airbus A321neo and 12 A320neo aircraft, as well as an additional seven spare engines to support fleet operations.

The engine order is valued at approximately $1.9bn at list price, including a long-term service agreement. The aircraft order was announced in January 2016.

To support its fleet, the airline has signed a 10-year Rate Per Flight Hour (RPFH) agreement. Throughout the term of the agreement, CFM guarantees maintenance costs for all of Gulf Air’s LEAP-1A engines on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.

Gulf Air is scheduled to receive 17 new Airbus A321neo and 12 A320neo aircraft, along with 10 Boeing wide-body aircraft due to begin delivery in early 2018.

The Gulf Air order follows an agreement signed two days previously in Beijing with ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), for the purchase of 80 LEAP-1B engines to power 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

That order is valued at nearly $1.1bn at list price, and ICBC Leasing is scheduled to begin taking delivery in 2018.

On the same day, CFM signed a $1bn, 15-year Rate Per Flight Hour (RPFH) maintenance agreement with SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, to support the LEAP-1B engines that will power its new fleet of 37 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2024.