Emirates awards Rolls-Royce its largest ever order worth $9.2bn

The decision confirms the Trent 900 as the engine of choice on the four-engine A380. It has now secured more than 50% market share on the aircraft, in addition to being selected by the majority of A380 customers.

Sir Tim Clark, Emirates Airline, president, said: "Rolls-Royce is a key partner for Emirates and we have been impressed with its commitment to continual improvements in the economic and operational performance of the Trent 900. These improvements have been decisive factors in our selection of the product for 50 of our A380s. Today's announcement is significant not only because it cements the partnership between Emirates and Rolls-Royce, but also because of the significant economic impact that this will have on aviation manufacturing in the UK and Europe."

John Rishton, Rolls-Royce, chief executive officer, said: "The success of Emirates over the last thirty years has been extraordinary; this is in no small part thanks to the exceptional leadership of Sir Tim Clark. Rolls-Royce has been proud to have been part of this success, powering Emirates aircraft since 1996. We are delighted that Emirates has again placed its trust in our technology, with the biggest order in our history."

The Trent 900 (above) powered the first commercial A380 in 2007 and is now used by eight operators on more than 70 aircraft, having logged over four million in-service flight hours. The engine offers the lowest lifetime fuel burn, with the latest version including technology developed for the Trent XWB and Trent 1000 engines.

Emirates’ investment in the Airbus A380 programme has had a significant impact on the UK and wider European economies. A recent Frontier Economics report identified that in 2013/14 Emirates’ investment in the A380 created 7,000 UK jobs, equating to a $630 million (€595 million) GDP contribution. Across the EU, Emirates’ 140 A380 orders are estimated to have supported 41,000 jobs, equivalent to a massive $3.6 billion (€3.4 billion) GDP.

The A380 programme sits at the heart of Emirates’ growth strategy. Sixty A380s are currently in operation, with a further 80 on order, making Emirates by far the largest purchaser of the aircraft. Since its introduction in 2008, over 36 million of the airline’s passengers have flown on the aircraft. The aircraft has it made Emirates’ operations significantly more efficient, carrying more passengers to and from the world’s busiest and most slot constrained airports. It has also helped Emirates deliver the level of excellence its customers have come to expect from the brand, through iconic differentiators like the On Board Lounge, purpose built in the UK.

In addition to the contribution Emirates makes to the UK via its A380 programme, the airline continues to play a key role in providing valuable international connectivity for secondary cities. Emirates provides unique direct services to Dubai, from Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow and a further 83 unique one-stop connections between these cities and Africa, Asia and Australia. These services facilitate trade and investment between the UK regions and key growing markets overseas, positively impacting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and supporting the development of regional centres.

Emirates currently operates 16 daily flights from the UK with nine of these operating as an A380; five daily from London Heathrow, two daily from London Gatwick and two daily A380s from Manchester.