by Rolls-Royce today announces that it has received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, as well as options for 20 more. Air India has also ordered 12 Trent XWB-84 engines, the sole engine option for the Airbus A350-900.
This is the first time an Indian airline has ordered the Trent XWB and the deal will make Air India the largest operator of the Trent XWB-97 in the world. The financial details of the order are not made public.
Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce plc, said: “Today’s announcement marks an exciting and truly momentous occasion for the Tata Group and Air India. the size and magnitude of this class reflect your level of ambition for the future. I congratulate them on taking this bold step to become one of the world’s largest airlines and would like to thank them for trusting Rolls-Royce to lead them on this journey. Air India is the first Indian airline to order the Trent XWB and the size of the commitment, including options, will make it the largest operator of the Trent XWB-97 in the world.”.
Campbell Wilson, CEO of Air India, said: “We are delighted to begin this partnership with Rolls-Royce and to have the Trent XWB engines in our new fleet of A350 aircraft. We are confident that they will provide us with the reliability and efficiency that consumers expect from today’s leading airlines and, in doing so, will play an important role in “vihaan.ai“Air India’s comprehensive transformation and growth strategy“.
The size of Air India’s orders reflects growing demand for air travel in India, which now has the world’s third-largest airline market and ranks as the world’s fifth-largest economy. The rise of aviation is driven by continued business growth, favorable government policies, continued infrastructure development, rising disposable income and the travel aspirations of its new and affluent middle class.
Industry forecasts show that passenger air traffic in India is expected to grow by more than 6% annually and the industry will require more than 400 medium and large aircraft to meet demand. This makes India a strategically important market for Rolls-Royce as it represents huge growth potential for its products and services in the future.
Rolls-Royce already has long-standing partnerships with the Tata Group. This includes a strong supply chain engagement with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) to manufacture a significant number of parts for the Trent XWB engine in India, as well as many high precision components for other Rolls-Royce civil aerospace engines.
