Dubai’s Emirates Airline on Friday awarded a lucrative engines deal worth a record $9.2-billion (8.5-billion-euro) to British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce.
“Emirates has today announced an historic $9.2 billion deal with Rolls-Royce for Trent 900 engines and a long-term TotalCare package,” it said in a statement.
The engines will power 50 Airbus A380s that were ordered at the Dubai Air Show in 2013 and will start entering service next year.
The deal — the biggest ever for Rolls-Royce and one of the largest ever export orders for a UK-based company — was unveiled at a press conference in central London by Emirates president Tim Clark.
“Rolls-Royce is a key partner for Emirates and we have been impressed with its commitment to continual improvements in the economic and operational performance of the Trent 900,” said Clark.
“These improvements have been decisive factors in our selection of the product for 50 of our A380s.
“Today’s announcement is significant not only because it cements the partnership between Emirates and Rolls-Royce, but also because of the large and sustained economic impact that this will have on aviation manufacturing in the UK and Europe.”
Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rishton praised the airline’s decision.
“The success of Emirates over the last thirty years has been extraordinary,” he said in the statement.
“Rolls-Royce has been proud to have been part of this success, powering Emirates aircraft since 1996.
“We are delighted that Emirates has again placed its trust in our technology, with the biggest order in our history.â€
Friday’s announcement sent Rolls-Royce shares 0.31 percent higher to 983 pence on London’s FTSE 100 index, which was 0.88 percent lower at 6,998.40 points.