15th Jul 2014 09:42
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said Tuesday it has won a contract with Airbus which will see its Trent 700 engines power five new A330 aircraft that will be leased by Airbus to Kuwait Airways.
The FTSE 100-listed company said the engines will be the first Trents to enter service with the Middle East airline, which has also ordered long-term TotalCare support for the engines, its first long-term services agreement, said Rolls-Royce.
In December 2013 Kuwait Airways ordered ten Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, which will be powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB.
Rolls-Royce said more than 1,500 Trent 700s are currently in service or are on order.
No financial details of the deal were disclosed.
In a separate statement Tuesday Rolls-Royce said it has signed a contract with United Airlines to extend its TotalCare service support for the lifetime of RB211-535 engines operated by United Airlines on Boeing 757 aircraft.
The new deal is the latest development in the successful long-term relationship between Rolls-Royce and United Airlines; at the Paris Air Show in 2013, United Airlines announced an order for 10 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and the conversion of 25 A350-900s to A350-1000s, all to be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.
TotalCare long-term service agreements are designed to minimise customer financial risk and improve operational performance and reliability, allowing operators to concentrate on their core business, said Rolls-Royce.
In a further statement Tuesday morning, Rolls-Royce said it has completed the first run of its higher-thrust version of the Trent XWB.
The 97,000 pound-thrust Trent XWB-97 is the sole powerplant for the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The engine will begin test flights in 2016 and entry into service is due in 2017, said Rolls-Royce.
On Monday the company said Airbus had selected its new Trent 7000 as the exclusive engine for the new aircraft, the seventh Trent engine in the series.
The company said the 68-72,000 pound thrust Trent 7000 will deliver a "step change in performance and economics compared to the current version of the Trent 700." It will improve specific fuel consumption by 10%, have twice the bypass ratio and will halve perceived noise, said Rolls-Royce. The first engine test run for the Trent 7000 is planned for 2015 with certification expected in 2017, supporting an aircraft entry into service in Q4 2017.
Rolls-Royce shares were trading 0.27% lower at 1,052.83 pence per share.
By Alice Attwood; [email protected]; @AliceAtAlliance
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