Rolls-Royce lands huge engines deal from Hong Kong airline

Rolls-Royce has won a significant deal to supply engines for a new fleet of aircraft ordered by Cathay Pacific.

The engineering giant, which has its civil aerospace division in Derby, will supply 60 Trent 7000 engines, which will power 30 Airbus A330-900 aircraft ordered by the Hong Kong flag carrier.

At the same time the airline has signed a TotalCare service agreement that will cover the fleet.

TotalCare is designed to provide operational certainty for customers by transferring time on wing and maintenance cost risk to Rolls-Royce.

It is supported by data delivered through the Rolls-Royce advanced engine health monitoring system, which helps provide customers with increased operational availability, reliability and efficiency.

Ewen McDonald, chief customer officer for Rolls-Royce (civil aerospace), said: “The Trent 7000, coupled with TotalCare, is a compelling proposition for airline customers and this order shows significant confidence in the Trent 7000/A330neo combination.

“This will make Cathay Pacific the world’s largest operator of Trent 7000 engines, which will benefit from the £1 billion investment we’re making to the Trent engine family.

“All of us at Rolls-Royce are proud of the trust that Cathay Pacific is placing in us, and we look forward to supporting these new aircraft as they enter service.”

The Trent 7000 is the latest addition to the Rolls-Royce Trent family of engines and exclusively powers the Airbus A330neo.

After entering service at the end of 2018, the Trent 7000 has flown more than two million hours.

Incorporating the latest generation technology, the A330neo/Trent 7000 combination delivers a 14% better aircraft fuel burn per seat (compared to the A330/Trent 700), while significantly lowering emissions.

Alex McGowan, chief operations and service delivery officer ay Cathay Pacific, said: “We are delighted to announce this order for 30 Trent 7000 powered A330-900 aircraft, which will be a natural replacement for our A330ceo aircraft.

“The Trent 7000/A330neo combination will provide excellent comfort for our passengers as well as improved fuel efficiency to help us achieve our sustainability goals.”

Rolls-Royce is investing more than £1 billion in a programme that will deliver further improvements to the Trent engine family.

For the Trent 7000, a ‘Durability Enhancement’ package has been introduced, which more than doubles engine time on wing and a second package of ‘hot-section’ enhancements will deliver a further improvement of up to 30%.

The engine is certified to operate on a 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend today and has been proven to be compatible with 100% SAF for the future.