Geoff Thomas
Rolls-Royce has beaten GE and Pratt & Whitney in a contest to supply its Trent 800s to power 10 Delta Air Lines' Boeing 777s (with firm options on a further 20 and rolling options on 30 more) - a total order potential of $1.5 billion.
Deliveries for the firm orders begin in summer 1999. Rolls-Royce now has investment from the British government worth $340 million over four years, attracting commercial interest rates, to develop new versions of the Trent.
These engines would used on airliners planned by Boeing and Airbus, including three new Boeing variants based on the current 777, 747 and 767 and the Airbus 340.
Rolls-Royce believes that the market for its upgraded Trents alone could provide sales worth as much as $85 billion.
Source: Flight Daily News
