Rolls-Royce Receives Trent 7000 Order, Signs Engine Service & Care Agreements

Rolls-Royce is set to fulfill an order for its high-bypass turbofan engine, delivering 14 Trent 7000 engines to power Virgin Atlantic’s fleet of seven Airbus A330neo aircraft, which will enter service in 2027. Rolls-Royce will also satisfy two separate service agreements:

• JSX signed TotalCare and SelectCare service agreements for 162 AE 3007A engines equipped across 77 Embraer ERJ-145 and ERJ-135 aircraft
• Vietjet signed a TotalCare service agreement for 40 Trent 7000 engines to power 20 Airbus A330neo aircraft

Rolls-Royce is investing more than £1 billion to implement additional improvements to the Trent engine portfolio. The engine’s durability enhancement package more than doubles engine time-on-wing. A hot-section enhancement package will offer an additional 30% improvement. A Trent 7000-equipped A330neo, compared to the A330, maintains 14% better aircraft fuel burn per seat with lower emissions. It’s currently certified to operate with a 50% SAF blend and will be compatible with 100% SAF in the future.

A330neo aircraft; Image Credits: Airbus

“Virgin Atlantic is an existing Trent 7000 customer, and we are delighted that they have elected to return for seven Airbus A330neos—confirming their confidence in the Trent 7000 and A330neo combination,” said Ewen McDonald, Chief Customer Office, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace. “We look forward to supporting these new aircraft as they enter service.”

Rolls-Royce’s service agreement with JSX for its 162 AE 3007A engines is a 10-year, $300 million agreement that provides JSX with predictability and known costs for fleet maintenance and services. TotalCare will cover 127 engines and SelectCare will cover 35 engines, with an option to transition into TotalCare coverage. The AE 3007’s turbofan core, in the 8,000 lb. thrust class, is based on the AE 1107 engine. It powers Embraer ERJ-145/140/135 twin-turbofan regional jets, as well as the Cessna Citation X, the Embraer Legacy jet, and Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk/Triton.

Rolls-Royce and Vietjet TotalCare service agreement for its Airbus A330neo aircraft leverages the combination of the two machines and enables Vietjet to avoid more than 100,000 tons of CO₂ over each aircraft’s lifetime.

TotalCare offers customers operational certainty by transferring time-on-wing and maintenance cost risk to Rolls-Royce. The service is supported by data from Rolls-Royce’s advanced engine health monitoring system. SelectCare allows operators to purchase a determined number of shop visits at fixed-price, offering flexibility, choice, and cost-certainty. In addition, the program establishes refurbishment shop visit pricing, access to optional services, and ‘green time’ management within the fleet.

“The combination of modern Trent 7000 engines on the newest generation of Airbus A330neo, supported by TotalCare, will help Vietjet reach new technological heights, enhance the quality of our flights, and increase the reliability and efficiency of our operations,” said Dinh Viet Phuong, CEO of Vietjet. “Specifically, the addition of the newest generation, high-efficiency Rolls-Royce engines aligns with Vietjet's sustainable development strategy, with its ESG goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.”

Earlier this week, easyJet and Rolls-Royce broke ground on an engine test site to conduct outdoor full-scale gas turbine hydrogen testing. Rolls-Royce also received a £4.8 million award from the U.K. Space Agency’s National Space Innovation Program to help develop and demonstrate space-based nuclear micro-reactor technologies.