PARIS (Reuters) - The head of France's Safran <SAF.PA> on Wednesday reaffirmed production targets for the LEAP aircraft engine co-produced with General Electric <GE.N> and predicted the engine that it replaces, the CFM56, would also stay in production through 2020.
CFM International, a joint-venture between the two aerospace groups, aims to deliver around 1,100 LEAP engines this year.
Safran Chief Executive Philippe Petitcolin said no unexpected setbacks had been discovered at Zodiac Aerospace, since Safran took control of the troubled French seats manufacturer in February.
"There have been no major (bad) surprises but there haven't been any good surprises either," Petitcolin told the AJPAE aerospace media association, adding it would take some 12-18 months for delayed airline seat projects currently being handled by Zodiac to work their way completely through the system.
Safran hopes for an inaugural contract for its new E-Taxi electrically powered aircraft taxiing system at the Farnborough Airshow in July, Petitcolin said.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
