Britain’s Rolls-Royce said yesterday it had won a contract worth US$1.8 billion at list prices to supply engines to Air China (中國國際航空) for 20 Airbus long-haul aircraft.
Rolls-Royce said it would supply Trent XWB engines to power 10 of the new Airbus A350XWB aircraft and Trent 700 engines for 10 A330 jets, which Air China recently ordered.
The company, one of whose Trent 900 engines failed on a Qantas Airbus A380 earlier this month, forcing it to make an emergency landing, said in a statement that the “Chinese market is fast growing with a clear need for additional aircraft capacity.”
He Li (賀利), Air China vice president, said in the statement that his company looked forward to “bringing the Trent XWB into service with our airline to provide us with fuel-efficient power for the A350 XWB and adding to our Trent 700-powered fleet.”
“We have now selected this engine on four separate occasions. Our Trent-powered fleet now stands at 78,” he said.
The Trent XWB was specifically designed for the Airbus A350 XWB, while the Trent 700 is widely used on the A330.
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