PARIS (Reuters) - CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric (N:GE) and France's Safran (PA:SAF), confirmed on Thursday it had started flight trials of its next-generation LEAP engine and said it was "on track" to win safety certification in 2015.
Reuters reported earlier that a version of the engine being developed for Chinese planemaker Comac had begun flight trials earlier this week.
The engine is key to aircraft upgrades being carried out by Boeing (N:BA), whose 737 MAX aircraft will be powered by LEAP, and Airbus (PA:AIR), which is offering a choice of engines from Pratt & Whitney and CFM on its revamped A320neo.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Andrew Callus)