Rolls-Royce wins $1.2bn order from Ethiopian Airlines

Rolls-Royce has won a major order from Ethiopian Airlines to provide Trent XWB engines, built in Derby, for ten new Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

Ethiopian became Africa’s first A350 operator in 2015 and currently has four of its initial 14 aircraft in service.

The new order brings Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing backlog to over 1,500 engines, representing over six years of production from its facilities in the Derby and Germany.

Tewolde Gebremariam, chief executive officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: “We have been impressed by the performance of both aircraft and engines in service, which gave us confidence to go forward with our order for ten additional aircraft which will bring even greater levels of comfort and service to our customers.”

Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, president – civil aerospace, said: “A repeat order from Ethiopian is a huge testament to the performance of our engines in service. We look forward to continuing to deliver excellent efficiency to a customer that continues to bring the latest engine and aircraft technology into its fleet.”