Rolls lands $2bn in engine orders

The Trent 700 engines, worth $1.5 billion at list prices, are to power 20 Air China Airbus A330 aircraft due for delivery from 2011. He Li, Air China senior vice president, said: "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." The latest Air China engines are an enhanced performance version of the Trent 700 which improves engine fuel burn - confirming its position as the engine of choice for fuel burn, emissions, thrust and noise on the A330. As part of the contract, Trent 700 engines for Air China's existing fleet of A330s will be retrofitted with enhanced performance kits. Meanwhile Ethiopian Airlines has ordered Trent XWB engines worth $480 million, an order which takes sales of the engine, the fastest-selling ever, past 1,000. The engines, the first Trent purchase by the airline, will power 12 Airbus A350 XWB (extra wide body) aircraft, with entry into service beginning in 2017. Rolls also won a $110 millio share in an order from DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing and financial business arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), for V2500 engines to power 20 Airbus A320 family aircraft, part of a 70-aircraft order the leasing company announced in July 2008. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2011. The V2500 is produced by the International Aero Engines consortium (IAE) in which Rolls-Royce is a senior shareholder.