15th Jul 2014 12:12
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.
Amid a spate of reports during the Farnborough International Airshow, 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.
Rolls-Royce also noted lessor CIT's contract to select 15 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, powered by its Trent 7000 engine. CIT had previously ordered Trent 700 engines for A330 aircraft, Trent XWB engines for A350 XWB aircraft and Trent 1000 engines for Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Lessor Avalon has also selected 15 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, powered by the Trent 7000 engine.
The British and French Governments have pledged support of a new Programme Arrangement which allows them to continue design work on engines for the Future Combat Air System, an unmanned combat air vehicle, a move welcomed by the FTSE 100-listed company and French aircraft and engine manufacturer Snecma S.A. Tuesday afternoon.
The governments will provide GBP120 million to the six manufacturers teaming up on this project: Dassault Aviation, BAE Systems, Thales, Selex ES, Snecma and Rolls-Royce. The power systems companies are participating through their 50:50 joint venture, Rolls-Royce Snecma Ltd., established in 2001.
With the current two-year Demonstration Programme Preparation Phase to be completed in the coming months, the new agreement signed by the two governments will guide discussions on an upcoming contract for the Feasibility Phase, said Rolls-Royce. The aim of the new phase is to commence more in-depth design studies, backed by the increased funding.
The feasibility phase will enable both companies to expand their design studies based on new propulsion system concepts and technologies for operational aircraft; the companies have previously combined their respective technological expertise and agreed workshare arrangements to meet technical requirements of the propulsion and integrated power system.
"Together Rolls-Royce and Snecma can bring both the technical expertise needed to develop this leading edge propulsion system capability and the experience of partnership that will enable its delivery on-time and on-budget. Today's announcement further underlines the confidence that the Governments of the UK and France have in our ability to achieve this," said Rolls-Royce President, Customer Business - Defence Bob Stoddart.
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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