Investing.com - Bank of America analyst Benjamin Heelan reports mixed performance across commercial aerospace engine families in May 2026, with widebody platforms showing strength while legacy narrowbody engines face continued structural decline. Global commercial flight cycles fell 2% year-over-year in May, reflecting bifurcation between newer and older aircraft platforms.
Widebody-linked engines from General Electric and Rolls-Royce delivered the strongest month-over-month improvement in May. The GE90 engine improved to -3.1% year-over-year growth, while Trent 800 cycles declined 4.1%. Both GENX and Trent 1000 engines powering the Boeing 787 showed modest declines, with GENX at -3.4% and Trent 1000 at 0.9% year-over-year.
Legacy narrowbody platforms deteriorated further in May. The CFM56 family declined 9% year-over-year, with the CFM56-5B powering the Airbus A320ceo down 11% and the CFM56-7B on the Boeing 737NG down 7%. The V2500 engine family showed the steepest decline at -18% year-over-year.
Newer-generation narrowbody engines maintained solid growth despite moderating pace. CFM LEAP engines grew 17% year-over-year in May, while the GTF family rose 18%. Both engine families power the Airbus A320neo platform, which showed 14% year-over-year growth in daily flight cycles.
Regional performance showed improvement in the Middle East, with monthly cycles recovering to -24% in May from -39.5% in April. Africa cycles improved to 12.5% growth, while Europe and North America each posted modest gains. Asia-Pacific and Latin America cycles declined month-over-month.
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