Rolls-Royce wins $2bn of new deals

16th Nov 2009 07:18

Rolls-Royce has won orders for its Trent engines from Air China and Ethiopian Airlines worth a combined $2bn (£1.2bn).Its Trent 700 engines will power 20 Air China Airbus A330 planes to be delivered from 2011. That will almost double Air China's Rolls-Royce powered A330 fleet to 43 and bring in $1.5bn for Rolls.Rolls said the Trent 700 has now been selected 14 times by nine customers to power 178 A330s in service or on order. Over 1,000 of them are in service or on firm order."We have been pleased with the performance and service support for our existing Trent 700s. This was a major factor in our latest engine selection," said He Li, Air China Senior Vice President.Phil Harris, Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President Customer Business, said of the engine: "It offers Air China many advantages, such as the ability to maximise capacity at hot and high altitude airports, minimise fuel costs and benefit from the Rolls-Royce TotalCare comprehensive long-term support package."Separately, the company said Ethiopian Airlines has ordered Trent XWB engines worth $480m to power 12 Airbus A350s. The Trent XWB is the fastest-selling Trent engine and has now sold over 1,000.It's the first time the Ethiopians have bought the Trent. The new planes will begin entering service in 2017.