Rolls-Royce wins £1.1bn Trent engine order
Derby-based Rolls-Royce has won a $1.8bn (£1.12bn) order to power 20 Air China aircraft, it has been announced this morning. The company will provide for Airbus long-haul aircraft including ten A350 XWBs and ten A330s. It follows safety concerns over its Trent 900 engine which disintegrated mid-flight forcing a Qantas plane to make an emergency landing in Singapore on 4 November.
The contract also includes a TotalCare long-term service agreement, meaning that Rolls-Royce engineers will be maintaining the engines.
Rolls-Royce said it will provide Trent XWB engines for the A350 XWBs and Trent 700 engines for the A330s.
In a statement, the company said: "The Chinese market is fast growing with a clear need for additional aircraft capacity. Rolls-Royce is well established in China, where it now enjoys a 56 per cent share for large civil aero engines."
He Li, Air China senior vice-president, said: “We look forward to bringing the Trent XWB into service with our airline to provide us with fuel-efficient power for the A350 XWB and adding to our Trent 700-powered fleet. We have now selected this engine on four separate occasions. Our Trent-powered fleet now stands at 78 aircraft either in service or on order.”
Steve Miller, Rolls-Royce civil aerospace vice-president for China, said: “Our world class technology and service support enables our customers to achieve unrivalled performance benefits. We are very proud that Air China has again put their trust in us with this new order for the Trent XWB engine and a follow-on order for the Trent 700.”
Despite the negative publicity, Rolls-Royce points out that it has won more than $4.5bn (£2.8bn) in orders from customers for the Trent 700, confirming its position.
The Trent 700 is the only engine specifically designed for the A330 and more than 1,000 are now in service or on order, said Rolls-Royce.
The Trent XWB, specifically designed for the Airbus A350 XWB, is the fastest selling Trent engine with more than 1,000 sales since 2007. It aims to offer 28 per cent better fuel efficiency than pre-Trent generation engines.
