Posts Tagged ‘Ethiopian Airlines’
Ethiopian Airlines confirms order for 12 Airbus A350 XWBs
Ethiopian Airlines has today ordered 12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, bringing total orders for the A350 XWB family to 505, not even three years after launch of the programme.
Rolls-Royce in $2bn engine orders
UK engineering firm Rolls-Royce says it has won orders to make $2bn(£1.2bn) of aircraft engines to power Airbus planes for Air China and Ethiopian Airlines.
The orders were announced on the first day of the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.
The $1.5bn Air China order involves providing Trent 700 engines to power 20 A330 aircraft that will be delivered from 2011.
And the $480m Ethiopian order covers Trent XWB engines for 12 A350-900 XWB planes that will begin service in 2017.
It came after Ethiopian Airlines announced a $3bn aircraft order with Airbus.
The airline made an initial draft request for the dozen extra-wide bodied A350-900s in July and confirmed the deal at the air show, the biggest in the Middle East.
Best-selling engines
Airlines have been hit hard during the recession, so the order for engines is welcome news for Rolls-Royce, which has factories in Derby and Bristol making engines, and one in Sunderland making aero-engine components.
In addition, the Rolls-Royce Inchinnan factory, which opened in October 2004 close to Glasgow Airport, also manufactures aeroplane engine components.
The Ethiopian order means Rolls-Royce has sold more than 1,000 of its best-selling XWB engines.
The firm has said the XWB is the most fuel efficient and environmentally sensitive large engine design on the market, with fuel efficiency ratings 28% higher than pre-Trent generation engines.
In the summer the firm said it was on track to meet its full-year financial targets, but warned that delays on the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 wide-body programmes had added an element of uncertainty.
However, the delays have created more demand for existing wide-body products, where it has a strong position.
