Bank of America analyst Benjamin Heelan says commercial aerospace engine activity in May 2026 displayed a clear split: newer and widebody platforms showed relative resilience while older narrowbody engines continued to contract.
Overall global commercial flight cycles were down 2% year-over-year in May, reflecting that bifurcation between recovering platforms and those still in structural decline.
Among widebody-linked engines, General Electric and Rolls-Royce families produced the most notable month-over-month gains. The GE90 moved to -3.1% year-over-year growth in May, a marked improvement from prior readings. Rolls-Royce's Trent 800 recorded a 4.1% year-over-year decline, which nonetheless represented one of the stronger month-to-month showings within widebody engines. Engines that power the Boeing 787 posted modest declines: the GENX family stood at -3.4% year-over-year and the Trent 1000 registered 0.9% year-over-year.
Legacy narrowbody platforms deteriorated further in May. The widely used CFM56 family declined 9% year-over-year overall. Within that family, the CFM56-5B, which powers the Airbus A320ceo, fell 11% year-over-year, while the CFM56-7B, used on the Boeing 737NG, was down 7% year-over-year. The V2500 engine family experienced the steepest contraction among tracked narrowbody engines, declining 18% year-over-year.
By contrast, newer-generation narrowbody propulsion continued to expand, albeit with a slightly moderating pace. CFM's LEAP series grew 17% year-over-year in May, and the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan family (GTF) rose 18% year-over-year. Both of those engine families are primary powerplants for the Airbus A320neo platform, which itself showed 14% year-over-year growth in daily flight cycles.
Regional trends were mixed. The Middle East showed improvement, with monthly cycles recovering to -24% in May from -39.5% in April. Africa moved into positive territory with 12.5% growth in cycles. Europe and North America each posted modest gains. Meanwhile Asia-Pacific and Latin America saw month-over-month declines in cycles.
Heelan's May readout highlights continued strength in newer-generation equipment and widebody-linked engines alongside sustained declines in older narrowbody powerplants, with regional variation shaping the overall global picture.