Engine maker Rolls-Royce has named AerCap, Avolon and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise as launch customers for a new support programme tailored to the needs of lessors.

The three companies' current and future fleets of Trent-powered aircraft will be enrolled in the LessorCare programme, which Rolls-Royce says is aimed at "drawing together a range of services under one simple, flexible and comprehensive framework".

AerCap president Philip Scruggs states that the lessor has "worked closely with Rolls-Royce to develop a service that gives us the choice and flexibility that we need across the lifecycle of our fleet of Trent-powered aircraft".

Rolls-Royce says LessorCare allows its customers to "pay for what they want when they need it". The programme spans customer support to "keep aircraft earning revenue", transition services that "ensure aircraft move faster and more efficiently between leases", and asset management that "provides portability and liquidity for maintenance value", adds the manufacturer.

Its director of customers and services for civil aerospace, Dominic Horwood, predicts that 2018 will be "a significant year for LessorCare as we build on our reputation for service innovation and roll it out to the rest of the market".

Rolls-Royce envisions working with customers to develop the programme "towards even closer integration of aftermarket services and aircraft lease agreements".

Avolon's head of OEM Paul Geaney expects that LessorCare will "allow us to meet our customers' evolving needs" and "enable us to continue to deliver high levels of operational efficiency", while for DAE it will "reduce delays in accessing services and thereby increasing the earnings capacity of our engine assets", states the Middle Eastern lessor's chief executive Firoz Tarapore.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with Rolls-Royce to further enhance the product which in turn will allow us to make a bigger commitment to Trent engines on our fleet," adds Tarapore.

Source: Cirium Dashboard