DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar Airways has placed a $4 billion (£3.13 billion) jet engine order with CFM International to power its 50 Airbus (PA:AIR) A321neos.
CFM, owned by General Electric (NYSE:GE) and France's Safran (PA:SAF), will supply LEAP-1A engines for the A321neos ordered by the state-owned carrier.
“We chose the LEAP engine based on its proven efficiency in commercial operations,” Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker said in a statement on Wednesday.
Qatar Airways ordered United Technologies Corp’s (N:UTX) Pratt & Whitney engines for its initial order of A320neo jets which it upgraded in 2017 to the larger A321 version.
The status of the Pratt & Whitney order was not immediately clear. Qatar Airways did not respond to a request for immediate comment.
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Qatar Airways threatened to walk away from the A320neo order in 2016, including cancelling the Pratt & Whitney deal, over performance issues before it eventually swapped it for the larger jets.