The luxurious global automobile giant Rolls-Royce has made the announcement that it has received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, which is the biggest-ever order for the line of engines in that segment.
Apart from it, the TATA-owned airlines have also ordered 12 Trent XWB-84 engines, which is the sole engine option for the Airbus A350-900, however, the financial details associated with the mega order have not been disclosed yet.
This is the first time an Indian airline has ordered the Trent XWB, making Air India the biggest operator of the Trent XWB-97 in the world. It is seen as a huge support for Air India’s ambitious growth plan for the airline that aims to provide, reliability, flexibility, and efficiency to its fleet as it takes on ultra-long-range routes between India and the US.
The Trent XWB will allow the passengers of Air India to travel knowing they have chosen the most sustainable long-haul aviation option available. With a 15 percent fuel consumption advantage over the first generation of Trent engines, the Trent XWB goes further on less fuel and offers leading performance and noise levels. It is also ready to operate on a 50 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel blend.
The size of the Air India order is an indication towards the positive increasing demand for air travel in India, which currently stands as the third biggest airline market in the world and holds the spot of the fifth largest economy globally.
The internal industry forecasts show that air passenger traffic in India is expected to grow at more than 6 percent per year, whereas the industry will require more than 400 medium and large aircraft to support demand. This makes India a strategically important market for Rolls-Royce as it represents enormous growth potential for its products and services far into the future.
Rolls-Royce already has inked a long partnership with the TATA Group, which includes a strong supply chain commitment with Tata Advanced Systems Limited owing to manufacture the significant number of parts for the Trent XWB engine in India, as well as several high-precision components for other Rolls-Royce civil aerospace engines.
Apart from that, Tata Consultancy Services provides engineering services exclusively to support Rolls Royce’s digital engineering and data innovation wing in India. This new order from Air India will further build on its partnership with Rolls-Royce.