PARIS (Reuters) - CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric (>> General Electric Company) and France's Safran (>> SAFRAN), confirmed on Thursday it had started flight trials of its next-generation LEAP engine and said it was "on track" to win safety certification in 2015.

Reuters reported earlier that a version of the engine being developed for Chinese planemaker Comac had begun flight trials earlier this week.

The engine is key to aircraft upgrades being carried out by Boeing (>> The Boeing Company), whose 737 MAX aircraft will be powered by LEAP, and Airbus (>> AIRBUS GROUP), which is offering a choice of engines from Pratt & Whitney and CFM on its revamped A320neo.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Andrew Callus)

Stocks treated in this article : AIRBUS GROUP, SAFRAN, The Boeing Company, General Electric Company