The CFM International joint venture has been awarded type certificates by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its advanced LEAP-1B engine.

The certification enables the engine to enter into commercial service next year.

This January, the LEAP-1B engine flew for the first time on a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with subsequent test flights conducted on two more aircraft.

"Boeing is racking up an impressive number of flight hours with the test aircraft and initial indications are that engine performance is meeting expectations."

All three aircraft have so far collectively completed more than 100 test flights, including a recent high-altitude flight testing in La Paz, Bolivia.

LEAP-1B engine features several new technologies, including 3D woven carbon fibre composite fan blades and fan case; a debris rejection system; fourth-generation 3D aerodynamic designs; twin-annular, pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor featuring additively manufactured fuel nozzles; ceramics matrix composite shrouds in the high-pressure turbine; and titanium aluminide (Ti-Al) blades in the low-pressure turbine.

Compared with other CFM engines, the LEAP-1B engine is expected to provide improvements in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as well as reductions in engine noise and gaseous emissions.

CFM International executive vice-president Francois Bastin said: "Boeing is racking up an impressive number of flight hours with the test aircraft and initial indications are that engine performance is meeting expectations."

As of January, a total of 6,144 LEAP-1B engines had been ordered to power 3,072 MAX aircraft family from 62 customers.