By Robert Wall and Ian Walker
LONDON--Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC said Friday it has won its
largest ever order from Emirates Airline worth $9.2 billion to
power Airbus A380 superjumbos.
Under the agreement, Rolls-Royce will provide Trent 900 engines
and its TotalCare long-term support service to Emirates. The
engines will power 50 A380 aircraft that will enter service from
2016.
Dubai-based Emirates in November 2013 said it would buy 50 more
A380 double-deckers, though it held off on making an engine
decision.
Emirates, by far the biggest operator of A380s, selected the
Engine Alliance, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and United
Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit to power its first 90
A380 jets. The airline, the world's largest by international
traffic, now has 60 of the double-decker jets in operation, the
Emirates said.
"We have been impressed with its commitment to continual
improvements in the economic and operational performance of the
Trent 900. These improvements have been decisive factors in our
selection of the product for 50 of our A380s," said the airline's
president Tim Clark. The Rolls-Royce engine may deliver a
fuel-efficiency gain over the engine Emirates currently uses on its
A380s, Mr. Clark said in an interview.
Rolls-Royce had secured more airline commitments for its A380
engine, though its rival sold more engines largely by winning
Emirates as the customer. This deal gives Rolls-Royce the lead also
by A380 engine units sold with a 52% edge, said Tony Wood, head of
aerospace for the British turbine maker.
Production of Trent 900 engines, which are assembled in
Singapore, is now assured through the end of the decade with
Emirates deliveries extending past 2020. Mr. Wood said it could
also boost the company's chances when future A380 engine orders
come up.
The deal marks an important breakthrough for Rolls-Royce at
Emirates, one of the premier buyers of long-haul planes. The
London-based engine maker had no contracts with Emirates after the
carrier last year canceled a deal for Airbus A350 jets. The airline
is again considering buying the plane in competition against Boeing
Co. 787 Dreamliners. That selection is at an advanced stage, Mr.
Clark said.
Airlines typically operate one engine type to avoid complexity
and cost. Mr. Clark said, though, that the carrier's two A380
fleets with different engines are big enough to avoid that being an
issue.
Emirates has been pushing to improve the Airbus A380 with new
engines. Rolls-Royce officials have indicated they would consider
building a new engine for the upgraded jet, referred to as the
A380neo. Mr. Clark said he expected an A380neo with new Rolls-Royce
engines to deliver double-digit-percentage efficiency gains. There
is no contractual link between the order for the Trent 900 and any
future A380neo engine deal, Mr. Clark said.
Airbus said it is studying whether to proceed with such a
program. The plane maker is trying to assess whether there is
demand for such a plane beyond Emirates. Airbus said it would
continue to improve the A380 even if that doesn't involve putting
new engines on the plane.
"As we continue to develop innovative solutions to further
improve its already unbeatable economics, we see a long and bright
future for the A380, which remains the best solution for enabling
air traffic to grow," Airbus jetliner boss Fabrice Brégier said in
a statement on Friday.
Mr. Wood said Rolls-Royce would consider providing an engine for
an upgraded A380 should Airbus make the decision to build the
plane.
Emirates said it could buy as many as 200 of the upgraded
A380neo jets if Airbus were to build the model. The first of the
regular A380 jets with Rolls-Royce engines is expected to be handed
over late next year.
-Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749 and
Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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