BA shows support for UK engineering
Rolls-royce has signed a £3.2bn deal to supply British Airways with engines for up to 61 aircraft in the first sale of its Trent 900 engine since one exploded in mid-air on a Qantas flight last year.
The Derby-based manufacturing giant will provide the airline with Trent 900s for 12 Airbus A380 planes and Trent 1000 engines to power 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
It comes as Rolls looks to allay safety fears about the Trent 900 after the explosion which forced the Australian carrier to ground its fleet of A380 superjumbos. Rolls said after the incident it had isolated the cause of the failure to a specific component in the turbine of the engine, which sparked an oil fire and led to the release of another part – a turbine disc.
Rolls chief executive Sir John Rose said: "We are pleased that British Airways continues to put its trust in our world-class Trent engine technology and service provision."