Examined: The Biggest & Best US-Based Commercial Aircraft Engine Manufacturers

There are four primary aircraft engine manufacturers worldwide, three of which are based in the United States. Though many companies are based in the US, they manufacture engines for several makes of aircraft, not just Boeing. Two of them date back to the early 1900s and have played a significant part in aviation history.
Let’s take a look at some of these manufacturers.
GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace came from the General Electric Company, which was founded in 1892. From 2021 to 2024, GE split into three companies, thus bringing about the creation of GE Aerospace. Today, the company has more than 50,000 employees and is headquartered outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
The General Electric Company (GE) first entered the aviation industry during World War I, when the government needed a booster created to be installed on piston engines. GE was the first to step up to the plate and accept the challenge, and another company soon followed. In the end, GE won the first aviation-related government contract.
When World War II (WWII) began, GE was still producing boosters/turbosuperchargers. Then, GE was chosen to develop the first jet engine in the US. What began as a military contract has now grown to revenues of more than $30 billion and a company that now does much more than just manufacture engines.
It was not until 1971 that GE entered the civil aviation market, developing the CF6-6 high-bypass turbofan engine for the Douglas DC-10. The CF6-6s’ success was so great that GE developed four more CF6 engines that went on to power planes like the Boeing 747 and 767, Airbus A300, A310, A330, and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11.
One of the CF6 engines, the CF6-80C2, was chosen to power the Boeing 747s in the US presidential fleet.
Today, GE manufactures the following engines:
CF34
CF6
CFM LEAP
CFM 56
CT 7
GE90
GE9X
GEnx
Photo: Aerospace Trek | Shutterstock
GE’s most recent development is the GE9X, made exclusively for the new Boeing 777X (777-8 & 777-9) aircraft. The new engine received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification in 2020 but has not yet entered service as the 777X program has not yet been certified by the FAA.
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Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company’s (P&W) origins date back to 1925, nearly 100 years ago. The company was founded in Hartford, Connecticut by Frederick B. Rentschler. The first engine developed by P&W was the R-1340 Wasp, which is still used today. In 1944, the manufacturer began working on gas turbine and jet propulsion to support the Allied forces in WWII.
Photo: Pratt & Whitney
During the war, more than 300,000 engines were made for military aircraft. Fast forward to 1953. That year, Pratt & Whitney began production of the J57 which went on to power the B-52 and numerous other military aircraft.
When Boeing developed the 747, the first engine to power the revolutionary aircraft was made by P&W. The JT9D powered the first 747 flight in 1969 and went on to power the 767, Airbus A300, A310, and McDonnell Douglas DC-10.
Related Pratt & Whitney And Air New Zealand Invest $150 Million In GTF MRO Air New Zealand and Pratt & Whitney are investing in building more GTF MRO capacity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Today, P&Ws most popular engine family is the GTF, made to power Airbus A320 family aircraft and the latest generation of Embraer’s E-jets, the E2 family. By July, the manufacturer announced that it had already received orders for more than 11,000 engines.
Photo: Embraer
The commercial aircraft engines manufactured today are:
GTF PW1100G-JM
GTF PW1900G
“These orders demonstrate continued customer confidence in Pratt & Whitney and the value the GTF engine offers with its world-class economic and environmental benefits. The GTF Advantage engine will extend this lead while providing more thrust and higher durability. We remain focused on executing all elements of the GTF fleet management plan including industrial output and material flow, GTF maintenance, repair and overhaul network expansion and ongoing customer support.” – Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines, Pratt & Whitney
CFM International
CFM International is a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines from France. The company makes the LEAP engine family and provides support for the LEAP and CFM56 engines. Younger than the two manufacturers already mentioned, CFM International was created in 1974.
Eight years after CFM’s founding, its first engine, the CFM56-2, entered service. This engine powered a Delta Air Lines DC-8 Super 70. The famous LEAP family was created in 2008, and it took eight years for the first engine to enter service.
Photo: Alexiushan | Shutterstock
Pegasus Airlines was the first to fly a plane with a LEAP engine, an Airbus A320neo. Since the creation of the LEAP program, CFM has made engines to power the A320 family, Boeing 737 MAX family, and, most recently, COMAC’s C919. As of March 2023, more than 5,000 LEAP engines were already in service, and more than 10,000 were on order.
There are three variants of the LEAP engines: the LEAP-1A powers the Airbus narrowbodies, the LEAP-1B powers the Boeing 737 MAX, and the LEAP-1C is for the COMAC C919.
According to CFM, the LEAP engines offer up to 20% reduction in fuel consumption and fuel emissions compared to previous generation engines. Since entering service in 2016, the LEAP engines have helped airlines save more than 21 million tons of CO2.
In 2021, CFM launched the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) Technology Demonstration Program. Two of the program’s main goals are to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by more than 20% compared to today’s engines. More than 400 ground tests have already been performed, and more than 1,000 engineers are working on the program.