The Hindu Business Line : Indian summer at Paris Air Show — Snecma-GE delivers 15,000th aircraft engine

WITH civil aviation taking off in a big way, on the wings of private and low-cost airlines, India's presence is expected to be felt at the Paris Air Show, especially as a buyer. Its presence will be felt on the military side, too, what with Russian companies present in force at Le Bourget.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is to demonstrate its Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv and the Intermediate Jet Trainer.

Among the major suppliers to India, significant presence will be that of SAFRAN - the French giant made up of the Paris-based engine-maker Snecma, and Sagem SA, France's second-biggest maker of military electronics - with its large formation that covers every area of aviation from engines to landing gear to avionics.

Coinciding with the air show, CFM — the Snecma-GE equal partnership for aircraft engines — delivered the 15,000th power plant.

Over 50 years, a number of Snecma companies — Snecma Moteurs, Turbomeca, Messier-Dowty and Messier-Bugatti — has supplied the Indian forces engines and equipment for aircraft.

Its subsidiary in Bangalore, Snecma Aerospace India Pvt Ltd, carries out research in aeronautical design and airborne information processing.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Snecma, this company is in charge of studying aeronautical design and onboard computer system.

Another Snecma subsidiary, Turbomeca, supplies engines for HAL's helicopters, including the Dhruv (Turbomeca TM 333 2B2), the upgraded Chetak (Alouette III) helicopter `Chetan' (TM 333 2M2) and the Chetak (Turbomeca's Artouste IIIB engine). Some 200 aircraft used by the Indian armed forces are to be re-engined with the TM 333 2M2.

HAL's HJT36 training aircraft is also powered by an engine - Larzac 04H20 - designed and developed by Snecma Moteurs and Turbomeca.

At a presentation to journalists in Paris, ahead of the Air Show, the Safran Chief Executive, Mr Jean-Paul Bechat, spoke of a strong order book for its CFM-56 engines, and large orders for military and helicopter power plants.

According to the presentation (made available to journalists) the group is hosting at the Paris Air Show, Snecma, along with its partner, GE, the world's biggest maker of jet engines, is working on a "major initiative" to improve the performance of the engine that powers the Boeing-737 and the Airbus A-320.

The various group companies are also making significant contributions to the Airbus A-400M and the Boeing-787 programmes.

In the half-year up to October 2005, Mr Bechat expects the group sales to grow 5 per cent over the 2004 figure of 10.4 billion euros and higher net earnings from 496 million euros last year. Indeed, the group has come a long way, as its Web site, recapping the 110-year history, says: "From the 50-hp Gnome Omega, to the 1.5-million-pound-thrust Ariane 5 boosters, from Louis Seguin's little 40-person workshop in Gennevilliers to a global corporation with 38,500 employees and facilities in 16 countries, it's been a very eventful century indeed..."

Another French company with Indian interest is ATR (Avions de Transport Régional) that will hand over to Air Deccan's Capt G.R. Gopinath one of the two first 72-seat ATR 72-500s, which will be displayed on the static. This Air Show, says ATR, will confirm the recovery of the turboprop market and the success of the company, as evidenced over the last few months.

The red carpet will be rolled out at the Air Show for Mr Naresh Goyal, chief of Jet Airways, which is flying high with plans to go to the US later this month. It is to increase its service to London. As also for the Air-India Chairman, Mr V. Thulasidas, what with the airline's decision to buy aircraft worth Rs 30,000 crore from Boeing.

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