Rolls-Royce announces order of Trent XWB-97 engines from Air India

British engineering company Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday that it had received an order from Air India for 68 Trent XWB-97 engines, with an option for 20 more. Airbus' large A350 aircraft are powered by Rolls-Royce XWB engines.

Air India on Tuesday closed an order for 250 Airbus passenger planes. The order includes 40 Airbus A350 aircraft and 210 Airbus A320/321 aircraft. Separately, Air India has ordered 220 aircraft from Boeing. "This is the biggest ever order for the Trent XWB-97, which exclusively powers the Airbus A350-1000. Air India has also ordered 12 Trent XWB-84, engines, the sole engine option for the Airbus A350-900," the company said in a statement.

It said this is the first time an Indian airline has ordered the Trent XWB and the deal will make Air India the largest operator of the Trent XWB-97 in the world. Rolls-Royce Tufan Erginbilgic said the announcement represents an "exciting and truly remarkable" opportunity for the Tata Group and Air India. "The size and magnitude of this order reflects the level of their ambition for the future. I congratulate them on taking this bold step towards becoming one of the world's greatest airlines," he said.

Rolls-Royce said the Trent XWB will support Tata Group and Air India's ambitious growth plans for the airline, providing its fleet with reliability, flexibility and efficiency on "very long-haul routes" between India and the US. It said the choice of the latest generation of Rolls-Royce engines also reflects the Tatata Group's "vision to make Air India the world's most technologically advanced service-oriented airline, competing on the world stage for best-in-class customers experience.” Campbell Wilson, CEO, Air India, said: "We are delighted to commence this partnership with Rolls-Royce, and to have their Trent XWB engines power our new fleet of A350 aircraft."