17th Apr 2015 09:38
LONDON (Alliance News) - Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC Friday confirmed it has won its largest ever order, worth USD9.2 billion, to provide engines and support services to Emirates for 50 Airbus A380 aircraft, a deal that breaks the stranglehold that a rival engine maker had on providing engines for the airline's fleet of superjumbo aircraft.
Under the deal, the British company will provide Trent 900 engines and TotalCare service support to Emirates, with the engines to power 50 Airbus A380 aircraft due to enter service in 2016.
Emirates, the world's biggest operator of A380s, selected the General Electric and Pratt & Whitney joint venture to power its first 90 A380 jets. In November 2013, the airline said it would buy 50 more A380 double-deckers, though it held off on making an engine decision.
The deal comes after Rolls-Royce lost a major order from Emirates last year. Rolls-Royce had been set to provide its Trent XWB engines for 70 Airbus A350s that Emirates had ordered, but the United Arab Emirates-based airline cancelled the order last June, wiping about 3.5% or GBP2.6 billion off Rolls-Royce's order book at that time.
Airbus, meanwhile, has been struggling to sell its giant double-decker A380 aircraft, the world's largest commercial jet, as airlines shun the largest aircraft made by both Airbus and Bowing in favour of smaller mid-range jets. Airbus has sold 317 of the A380 to 18 customers, with 156 currently in operation with 13 customers, according to data on the Airbus website. Emirates has ordered 140 of the total, way more than the next biggest customer, Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 24.
Emirates had asked Airbus to upgrade the A380 with newer, more efficient engines, and the deal with Rolls-Royce rather than Pratt & Whitney came as the British company continued to improve the efficiency of the Trent 900 engine.
"Rolls-Royce is a key partner for Emirates and we have been impressed with its commitment to continual improvements in the economic and operational performance of the Trent 900. These improvements have been decisive factors in our selection of the product for 50 of our A380s," Emirates President Tom Clark said in a statement.
Rolls-Royce said the Trent 900 powered the first commercial A380 in 2007 and is now used by eight operators on more than 70 aircraft. "The engine offers the lowest lifetime fuel burn, with the latest version including technology developed for the Trent XWB and Trent 1000 engines," the British company said.
"The success of Emirates over the last thirty years has been extraordinary; this is in no small part thanks to the exceptional leadership of Sir Tim Clark. Rolls-Royce has been proud to have been part of this success, powering Emirates aircraft since 1996. We are delighted that Emirates has again placed its trust in our technology, with the biggest order in our history," Rolls-Royce Chief Executive John Rishton said Friday.
Shares in Rolls-Royce were up 1.9% to 998.67 pence on Friday morning, one of the best performers in the FTSE 100.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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