United Technologies Corp unit Pratt & Whitney, General Electric Co and Rolls-Royce Plc are vying to supply engines for 22 new aircraft China Airlines Co (華航) is buying from Boeing Co and Airbus SAS.
"The engines selection is under evaluation," China Airlines spokesman Roger Han (韓梁中) said. He declined to value the order. Rolls-Royce's Trent 700, which powers Airbus A330s, has a list price of US$8 million, according to RR corporate broker ABN Amro.
China Airlines is buying 10 long-range Boeing 747-400s and 12 medium-range Airbus A330-300s, with options to acquire 6 more of the Airbus A330s. At list price, the Boeings, including six passengers planes and four cargo carriers, would be worth US$2 billion and the smaller Airbus planes would be worth US$1.7 billion, or US$2.5 billion if the options are exercised, the carrier said.
But the company would actually pay considerably less, having bargained aggressively at a time when many other airlines are canceling orders for new aircraft, according to Han.
"Our transaction price is much, much lower than the list price," Han said last week. "There were some big discounts because right now the market competition favors airlines."
China Airlines has been under pressure from the Taiwan government to order more aircraft from Boeing, after initial media reports said it was choosing European-based Airbus aircraft. Taiwan relies on US for political support and military equipment to defend it against China.
"The three major engine companies are all keenly interested in the possibility of being the engine suppliers," said Lyman Marshall, China division president of Pratt & Whitney.
Ben Gong, sales director of GE Aircraft Engines China, said his company submitted a bid. Rolls-Royce China President Rod Williams couldn't be reached.
China Airlines will need four engines for each of the new Boeing planes and two engines for each of the new Airbus planes. The carrier already uses some Pratt & Whitney engines on its 747 aircraft.
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