Ethiopian Review

Rolls-Royce announced Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, that Ethiopian Airlines has ordered Trent XWB engines worth $480m at list prices. This order takes sales of the Trent XWB, the fastest-selling Trent engine, past 1,000.

The engines, the first Trent purchase by the airline, will power 12 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, with entry into service beginning in 2017.

Girma Wake, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: “As one of Africa’s leading airlines, we constantly seek to improve our range and frequency of international services to meet growing passenger demand. Our selection of low fuel burn Trent technology will enable us to do this in the most cost-effective way.”

Metin Oktay, Rolls-Royce Vice President Customer Business – Africa, said: “We are delighted to welcome Ethiopian Airlines to the Trent family of customers. African airlines are continuing to invest in response to growing global customer demand. The Trent XWB, our latest Trent, will provide Ethiopian Airlines with leading edge technology which will keep costs to a minimum.”

Specifically designed for the A350 XWB, the Trent XWB is the most fuel efficient and environmentally sensitive large engine design on the market, with fuel efficiency ratings 28 per cent higher than pre-Trent generation engines.

The Trent 700 on the A330 has had strong demand, with more than 160 engines sold for the year so far. The company has more than 1,000 Trent 700 engines in service or on firm order.

“The engine does very well in a hot and high challenging environment and we are able to offer a superior pay load performance that provides our customers with a clear revenue earning advantage,” said Phil Harris, Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President for Customer Business, in an interview on Nov. 9.

Ethiopian Airlines is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and a leading carrier in Africa. It serves both Africa, including the only daily east-west flight across the continent, and 58 international destinations. More than 210 weekly international departures are made from Addis Ababa and 555 weekly international departures worldwide.