When Air India announced its mammoth aircraft order last week, it was not just the aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing that were licking their chops. Each one of those 470 aircraft has two engines, so even without any spares, that’s 940 multi-million dollar powerplants that were also up for grabs.
The biggest-ever Trent XWB-97 order
By splitting the order between Airbus and Boeing, Air India was also breaking the engine orders, as some aircraft have a single-engine option. For its widebody needs, Air India chose both the Boeing 777X and 787 and the Airbus A350, with the latter being powered solely by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.
This marks the first time the Airbus A350 has been chosen by an Indian airline, with the order including six A350-900s and 34 A350-1000s. On Valentine’s Day, Rolls-Royce shared the love by announcing it had received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, the powerplant of the A350-1000, plus options for 20 more. It also bagged an order for 12 Trent XWB-84 engines, the sole engine option for the A350-900.
Rolls-Royce said the Air India deal was its biggest-ever order for the Trent XWB-97 and was the first time an Indian airline had ordered the XWB engine. In this one deal, Air India will become the world’s largest Trent XWB-97 operator. A highly delighted Rolls-Royce CEO, Tufan Erginbilgic, who only took over the reins in January, said:
“Today’s announcement marks an exciting and truly remarkable occasion for Tata Group and Air India; the size and magnitude of this order reflects the level of their ambition for the future.
“I congratulate them on taking this bold step towards becoming one of the world’s greatest airlines and I would like to thank them for putting their trust in Rolls-Royce to power them on this journey.”
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline is delighted to commence the partnership with Rolls-Royce and to have the Trent XWB engines powering the new fleet of A350 aircraft. He added:
“We are confident that they will provide us with the reliability and efficiency consumers expect of today’s leading airlines and thereby play an important part in Vihaan.AI, Air India’s comprehensive transformation and growth strategy.”
The third biggest airline market in the world
The OEM believes the rise of aviation in India has been fuelled by various factors, including continued business growth, rising disposable incomes and the travel aspirations of its young, affluent middle class.
With the country now ranked as the third biggest airline market in the world, Rolls-Royce describes it as a “strategically important market as it represents enormous growth potential for its products and services far into the future.” It already has long-standing partnerships with the Tata Group (owners of Air India), including the supply of a significant number of XWB parts in India by Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
Rolls-Royce also talked up the sustainability aspect of the Trent XWB, saying it was 15% more fuel efficient than the first generation Trent engine and that it is also ready to operate on a 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel Blend.