Rolls-Royce to power additional A380s for Qantas Airways

Rolls-Royce announced that Qantas Airways has ordered Trent 900 engines to power eight additional Airbus A380s, in a deal valued at more than $575 million. This brings Qantas’s Rolls-Royce powered A380 fleet to 20 aircraft.

Qantas today took delivery of its first Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered Airbus A380 at a special ceremony at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.

David Cox, Executive General Manager Qantas Engineering said: “We are pleased to further expand our relationship with Rolls-Royce. The Trent 900 offers us an effective economic solution, operational efficiency, and low engine noise and emissions for our A380 fleet.”

Nick Devall, Executive Vice President – Customer Business, Rolls-Royce, added: “This repeat selection of the Trent 900 by Qantas is a demonstration of their faith in the product and underlines the Trent’s status as the market leader on the A380.

”In addition to meeting fuel efficiency requirements, the Trent 900 has the lowest overall emissions for the A380, and will therefore provide Qantas with superior operating economics on the long-haul routes for which these aircraft are intended.”

Although the Trent 900 is the largest and one of the most powerful engines Rolls-Royce has built, it was designed to minimise environmental impact. The engines operate well within the requirements of all current and proposed legislation on emissions and the Trent-powered A380 comfortably meets the stringent noise limits for airports such as London Heathrow.

The Trent 900 has been selected by ten of the 13 Airbus A380 customers who have made an engine selection.