Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Rolls-Royce has reached an agreement worth $2.4 billion for engines and services with HNA Group. The agreement was signed during the state visit by the President of the People's Republic of China to the United Kingdom.
HNA Group is a conglomerate with interests in aviation, financial services, tourism and hospitality, logistics, real estate and retail. HNA Aviation currently operates and manages, amongst others, Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Capital Airlines, flies to over 250 cities and serves 72 million passengers annually. HNA Group currently operates 33 Trent 700 powered A330 aircraft.
The engines included in the agreement will power a total of 44 aircraft that have already been ordered with Airbus.
The agreement was signed in London, by HNA Group Chairman Chen Feng and Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Officer Warren East and was welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
The agreement covers:
Mr Chen Feng said: "Rolls-Royce will provide both engine power and engine services for our new aircraft and we look forward to further developing our relationship as we bring these new aircraft into service."
Mr East said: "We are proud to power HNA Group's new aircraft, which will help to create new connections for airline passengers right across China. This decision by HNA Group is a real vote of confidence in our engines and our services and we greatly value our continued partnership with them."
The Trent 700 has won more than 60 per cent of new orders over the last three years. More than 1,500 Trent 700s are now in service or on firm order, making it the most popular in-service Trent engine. The HNA Group agreement reinforces our confidence in managing a successful transition from the Trent 700 to the new Trent 7000, the exclusive engine for the A330neo aircraft.
The Trent XWB is the world's most efficient large civil aero engine and more than 1,500 engines have already been sold to 40 customers.