British Airways chooses Rolls-Royce engines for long haul fleet

British Airways has selected Rolls-Royce Trent engines to power up to 61 new long haul aircraft that it will acquire from Airbus and Boeing. The order, which includes an innovative TotalCare contract, is potentially worth in excess of $5 bln at list prices.

The order includes 12 firm and seven option Airbus A380 aircraft and 24 firm and 18 option Boeing 787s, scheduled for delivery from 2010.

The Trent 900 is the launch engine for the Airbus A380 and enters service next month. It is the world’s quietest and cleanest high thrust engine for the A380, with levels of emissions well below the requirements of all current and proposed legislation.

Eight out of the eleven customers who have made engine selections to date on the A380 have selected the Trent 900.

The Trent 1000 is the launch engine for all variants of the Boeing 787 and will power the aircraft’s first flight later this year, before entering service on the 787-8 in 2008. The engine has been specifically designed to maximise its environmental performance.
British Airways operates a fleet of 107 Rolls-Royce powered aircraft, including 57 Boeing 747s, 16 777s with a further four on order, 21 767s and 13 757s.
The airline also has 68 Airbus A320s in operation of which 60 are powered by the V2500 engine produced by IAE (International Aero Engines) in which Rolls-Royce is a senior shareholder.