Rolls-Royce wins $575 contract from UAE’s Etihad Airways

Going against the tide of declining investments in the aviation industry, Britain's Rolls-Royce has announced a $575-million deal with United Arab Emirates' Etihad Airways to supply and maintain Trent 700EP engines for eight Airbus A330 aircraft. This particular engine enjoys a 53 per cent dominance in the A330 market.

The A330 aircraft, which will be delivered between 2009 and 2011, will bring Abu Dhabi-based Etihad's Rolls-Royce powered A330 fleet to 24, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Etihad has already picked Rolls-Royce engines to power 16 other A330 aircraft, as well as for 34 other Airbus planes.

The long-term "Total Care" maintenance agreements included will last for 15-20 years and should keep service sales flowing for the engine-maker. "Recent improvements include increased fuel efficiency resulting in a significant 1.3 per cent improvement in fuel consumption on new build engines," Rolls-Royce said.

''This continuation of our relationship with Rolls-Royce helps us to develop our state-of-the art fleet,'' James Hogan, the airline's chief executive, said in a statement. The order for 12 planes is separate from a substantially larger order placed by Etihad this year at the Farnborough Air Show, when it requested 55 aircraft from Airbus and 45 from Boeing.

The news follows Monday's news that Rolls-Royce, which recently announced it was to cut 2,000 jobs, had secured a £258 million UK Ministry of Defence contract to supply engine support to the country's Sea King helicopter fleet.