On February 27, the Qantas Group announced that it had selected the General Electric (GE) GEnx engine to power its Boeing 787 fleet of up to 115 aircraft.

The Chief Financial Officer of Qantas, Mr Peter Gregg, said the choice of the GEnx engine had been a difficult one following an exhaustive eight-month evaluation process.

Mr Gregg said the initial order for 45 aircraft ship sets was for a value of AU$2 billion in capital and maintenance costs over the life of the engines.

"The GEnx was chosen because of its superior performance and environmental impact for the type of operation the Group aircraft will perform," he said.

"The GEnx is 20 per cent more fuel efficient, produces around 20 per cent less carbon dioxide and 40 per cent less nitrous oxide than the engines on our B767 aircraft, and operates with a 50 per cent smaller noise footprint," he said.

"This, combined with the ground breaking technology Boeing is introducing with the B787 aircraft, will ensure that the Qantas Group will have the most efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft available," Mr Gregg said.