Jet deal lifts Rolls-Royce
EMBATTLED?jet engine maker Rolls-Royce got a much-needed boost yesterday from a $1.8bn (£1.13bn) order from Air China, only weeks after one of its engines exploded on an Airbus super-jumbo.
Rolls, which is facing potential compensation claims after a Trent 900 engine broke up in mid-air on an Airbus A380, said the airline was buying engines for 20 Airbus aircraft.
The order includes Trent XWB engines for 10 A350 XWB jets and Trent 700 turbines for 10 A330s.
It comes after China Eastern Airlines ordered $1.2bn of Trent 700 engines on November 9 for 16 A330 jets. Rolls also won a $100m share of a deal from Brazil’s TAM Airlines.
Rolls will welcome the news as a vote of confidence from airlines despite the accident on 4 November.
It is repairing Trent 900 engines on the A380 after Qantas flight QF32 from Sydney from Singapore had to make an emergency landing.
Airbus wants compensation for disruption and Rolls says its profits are likely to be slightly lower as a result of the cost of correcting the problems.
Meanwhile, in further good new for Rolls Royce, Australian airline Qantas said it will resume flying its Airbus 380 fleet from Saturday after engine inspections concluded the airplane was safe to fly.
FACT BOX | Rolls-Royce Trent Engines
The Trent 900 is part of the Trent series of engines made by Rolls in Derby in the East Midlands.
The Trent family includes the 1000 for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner,
the Trent XWB for the Airbus A350, the Trent 900 for the A380, the Trent 800 for the Boeing 777, the Trent 700 for the Airbus A330 and the Trent 500 for the Airbus A340-500/600.
Trent 900 for A380 super-jumbo in service with three operators so far including Singapore Airlines,
Qantas and German flag carrier Lufthansa.
Trent 900 was chosen by nine out of 14 airline operators of the A380, making it the most popular engine on the aircraft against an alternative from US rivals General Electric and Pratt &?Whitney.
Of the 37 A380s currently in the air, 20 are equipped with the Trent 900.
British Airways has ordered 12 Airbus A380s with Trent 900 engines.
The Trent 900 powered the first flight of the A380 in April 2005.