A boss at Derby’s Rolls-Royce has spoken of his pride after airline Emirates confirmed a huge multi-billion pound order for jets powered by the engine-maker.
On Monday, the Dubai-based airline confirmed an order for 50 Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which are exclusively powered by Trent XWB engines manufactured at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division in Sinfin.
It is almost five years since the Trent XWB went into service. It is currently the world’s most efficient large aero engine, having achieved more than five million flying hours in service with 29 operators flying to 130 destinations.
Rolls-Royce’s relationship with Emirates began in 1996 with the selection of Trent power.
The Trent XWB will be the fifth member of the Trent family of engines to operate in their fleet.
Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce’s president of civil aerospace, said: “We are very proud that Emirates has chosen to enhance its fleet with the A350-900 powered by our Trent XWB.
“We appreciate the trust placed in us by Emirates, which reflects the confidence they have in the performance of this engine.
“We look forward to this order further enhancing our partnership for decades to come.”
Emirates first announced its intention to order the fleet of A350s back in February as part a package of deals, which also included 40 Airbus A330neo aircraft, which are exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000 engines.
The package will also see Rolls-Royce provide Emirates with Trent 900 engines for 14 Airbus A380s - superseding a previous deal for 52 of the aircraft.
The A380 is the world’s largest passenger aircraft. But since coming onto the market it has struggled to compete with more efficient, smaller models.
Airbus has since announced that it will end deliveries of the A380 in 2021 - a decision which is understood to have been prompted by Emirates reducing its order for the superjumbo.
