Rolls Royce bags record $5.6bn order for Trent XWB engines from Qatar Airways

Paris: Rolls Royce today announced the largest-ever firm engine order for its civil aerospace business from Qatar Airways at the Paris Air Show. The order is for Rolls Royce's Trent XWB engines, which will power Qatar's new fleet of 80 Airbus A350 XWB twinjets, and is worth $5.6 billion at list prices. The order includes a TotalCare long-term services agreement.

The order includes all members of the A350 XWB family, consisting of 20 A350-800s, 40 A350-900s and 20 of the largest family variant, the A350-1000. A single version of the Trent XWB is capable of powering all aircraft in the series.

Akbar Al-Baker, chief executive officer of Qatar Airways, said: "This commonality will give us a highly-efficient engine and airframe combination that will have a positive impact on cost of ownership. By developing this engine specifically for the A350 XWB, Rolls-Royce will deliver an optimised power plant with not only the best economics, but also new generation environmental technologies."

Sir John Rose, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, added: "This is an extremely significant order from one of the world's most forward-looking airlines. Qatar Airways has developed a reputation as ambitious and fast-moving, and we are committed to helping it achieve its goals."

Latest noise and emissions reduction features will be drawn from the
Rolls Royce Vision technology acquisition programmes, ensuring the Trent XWB exceeds all current and anticipated environmental legislation by significant margins.

The Trent XWB is the only engine available for the A350 XWB.

This is also Qatar Airways' second selection of a Trent engine. The airline also operates a fleet of four Airbus A340-600s, powered by the Trent 500.

Trent XWB
The 75,000 - 95,000lb thrust Trent XWB is the sixth member of the three-shaft Trent engine series and is being developed specifically for the Airbus A350 XWB twinjet. It is available for deliveries from mid-2013 and will be certificated at 95,000lbs from entry into service. According to Rolls Royce, by the time the Trent XWB enters service, Trent series engines will have accumulated more than 75 million flying hours.

TotalCare agreements, tailored for individual operators, offer a range of services extending to aspects of support such as latest predictive maintenance, asset and logistics management, as well as repair and overhaul. Under such long-term contracts, Rolls Royce assumes full responsibility for engine maintenance in return for an agreed financial rate per flying hour.

Qatar Airways is one of only five airlines in the world with a Five Star ranking for service and excellence awarded by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry-monitoring agency. Skytrax also named Qatar Airways' cabin crew as best in the Middle East for the fourth year running in 2006, and second best worldwide following a survey of more than 12 million passengers.

Averaging 35 per cent growth year on year, Qatar Airways carried more than 8 million passengers  during the 2006/07 financial year. The airline operates an all-Airbus fleet of 58 aircraft flying to 75 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Far East and the Indian subcontinent from its hub in Doha, capital of Qatar.