Rolls-Royce, the global provider of power systems and services secured an order from Saudi Arabian Airlines, worth up to $500m, to provide engines and TotalCare® support for four Airbus A330 aircraft already announced and four options.

These aircraft, which are due to enter service from 2013, will be in addition to Saudi Arabian Airlines’ existing fleet of eight Trent 700 powered Airbus A330s, and will bring the total of Trent 700 powered A330s in the fleet to sixteen.

Khaled Al-Molhem, Saudi Arabian Airlines Director General said: “Our first Trent 700 powered A330 went into service in May last year and, since then it has performed flawlessly. We have confidence that Rolls-Royce technology and support services are the right choice for our continued growth.”

Phil Harris, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Civil Aerospace, said: “The Trent 700 is a market leader and in the Middle East it is the engine of choice for 8 out of the 11 operators of the Airbus A330, powering three quarters of the aircraft in service. We are proud that our valued customer, Saudi Arabian Airlines has again put its trust in our world leading technology and aftermarket support.”

The Trent 700, the only engine designed specifically for the A330 aircraft, has won more than 75 per cent of orders in the last three years and over 1,400 Trent 700 engines are now in service or on order. Eight out of 11 operators in the Middle East have selected the Trent 700 and all Trent engines in service in the Middle East are covered by TotalCare® long term service support.

Background:

1. Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.

2. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.

3. Annual underlying revenues were £10.8 billion in 2010, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £61.4 billion at 30 June 2011, providing visibility of future levels of activity.

4. Rolls-Royce employs over 39,000 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.

5. In 2010, Rolls-Royce invested £923 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.

6. Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.

7. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.

8. The number of Rolls-Royce powered aircraft in the Middle East more than doubled between 2000-2011 and now stands at over 400, with 40 million lbs of installed thrust. The company has a 44 per cent share of new engines on order in the widebody aircraft market in the Middle East

Source: Press Release (Rolls-Royce)