CFM International announced on the eve of the show that it had closed the sale of Leap-1A engines to Pegasus Airlines for its Airbus A320neo/A321neo orders. The Snecma-GE joint venture also gave an update on Leap-1A testing. Separately, the French state has announced a divestiture of at least 3.6 percent of shares in Safran (Snecma’s parent company).

The engine deal finalized with Turkey’s Pegasus was announced last July and is worth $4.3 billion at list prices, including a 20-year service agreement. Deliveries will take place between 2016 and 2022, and the 200 turbofans ordered will power the 100 Airbuses that Pegasus is buying.

The first Leap-1A has now come off its test stand. Trials began at GE’s outdoor facility in Peebles, Ohio on September 4 and included 300 hours and 400 cycles. The next milestone will be icing tests, scheduled for 2014 at GE’s testing, research and development center in Winnipeg, Canada.

The flight test aircraft for the LEAP, a former Pan Am 747, is being prepared at GE Aviation’s Victorville, Calif. facility, visited by AIN last month.

Meanwhile, the French government’s plan is to sell some of its Safran shares. The final percentage will be somewhere between 3.6 and 4.7, which will bring the French state’s share down to 22.4 to 23.5 percent. AIN calculates this could result in a €900 million ($1.2 billion) gain for the government. Earlier this year, the French state sold 3.12 percent of its Safran shares.