Rolls-Royce secures agreement with Air France for Trent XWB
AERO engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce has expanded its client base by concluding a new agreement with leading airline, Air France-KLM Group.
The airline has signed an agreement selecting the Trent XWB engines to power its fleet of Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Rolls-Royce said it would now work closely with Air France-KLM Group to finalise the agreement, which covers up to 60 aircraft, 25 of which are planned to be firm orders in the near term.
Mark King, Rolls-Royce President – Civil Aerospace, said: “This will be the first time we have supplied large engines to Air France-KLM Group and we look forward to building on the positive relationship we have established during the aircraft evaluation process.
“The Trent XWB test results are already showing it to be the most efficient large aero engine available on the market today.”
The agreement comes on the heels of a deal between Rolls-Royce and Japanese airline Skymark for Trent 900 engines to power its fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft.
The company has also won a contract from travel group TUI, owner of Thomson, to provide Trent 700 engines to power two Airbus A330 aircraft.
The aircraft will be operated by TUI’s subsidiary Corsairfly and the contract also includes TotalCare® services for the two aircraft plus two additional A330s already in service with the airline.
Jacqui Sutton, Rolls-Royce civil aerospace senior vice president – customer business, said: “The Trent 700 is a clear market leader. It is the most efficient engine on the A330, a position maintained by our constant investment in new technology.”
Pascal de Izaguirre, managing director, Corsairfly said: “The Trent 700 has already proven itself on our existing A330-200s and this order is a sign of our continued confidence in Rolls-Royce product and services.”
