Rolls-Royce loses pounds 440m Japanese order to US firm: Pratt & Whitney engines chosen to power Boeing fleet
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Your support makes all the difference.ROLLS-ROYCE was dealt a blow yesterday when Japan Airlines decided against powering its fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft with the Trent engine, opting instead to place the pounds 440m order with Pratt and Whitney of the US.
The decision leaves Rolls firmly in third place on the 777 programme behind Pratt and Whitney and its other big US rival, General Electric, with a 20 per cent share of the market.
JAL's announcement helped to send Rolls' shares down 5.5p to close at 180p and was a particular setback for the chairman, Sir Ralph Robins, who visited Tokyo a fortnight ago to press the case for the Trent.
It was not, however, totally unexpected, since the other two Japanese carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air System, chose the P&W 4000 for their 777s.
British Airways also snubbed the Trent, selecting the GE90 for its 777s - a move that influenced ANA's choice.
Rolls said: 'We are disappointed but we always knew it was going to be a difficult deal to win because JAL is a long-term P&W customer.'
The Trent is Rolls' biggest engine programme since the development of the original RB211 and is costing the company in the region of pounds 500m. There are seven customers so far for the Trent, which will also power the Airbus A330, and orders stand at about pounds 2bn.
Rolls is joint market leader on the A330 with 40 per cent of the market. The Trent enters service on the A330 with Cathay Pacific in a year's time.
The other A330 customers are TWA, the aircraft leasing group ILFC, Garuda of Indonesia and Dragonair.
Thai International Airways will be the first carrier to operate Trent-powered 777s. Other 777 customers are Emirates and Cathay Pacific.
Rolls will certify its engine for the 777, the Trent 800, at 90,000lb thrust. Last week it set a record with the engine by running it at 106,500lb thrust.
Higher-thrust engines are expected to win the lion's share of the market as airlines opt for larger and heavier planes capable of carrying bigger payloads.
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