Virgin Atlantic order for A330neo is good news for Rolls-Royce

Virgin Atlantic made a significant order for the Airbus A330neo last week at Paris Air Show, which is exclusively powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine.

The airline is to introduce 14 A330neo aircraft, powered by the seventh member of a Trent family that has now accumulated more than 125 million engine flying hours.

Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “A fundamental part of our strategy is collaboration with partners and our announcement today with Airbus and Rolls-Royce, following the launch of our A350-1000 this summer, takes our partnership to the next level. The Trent 7000 and the A330-900neo will play a pivotal role in our fleet transformation.

“We will be proud to operate the youngest, cleanest fleet yet, with an average age of just five years. It also allows us to continue innovating for our customers to create an on-board experience we know they will love.”

Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce, President – Civil Aerospace, said: “This fleet expansion is another great endorsement of both the A330neo and Trent 7000, our very latest version of the Trent. We are deeply grateful for the trust that Virgin Atlantic has placed in us – soon their entire fleet will be 100% Rolls-Royce powered.”

The engine draws on more than 50 million flying hours of experience from the Trent 700, which powers the original version of the A330. The 68-72,000lb thrust Trent 7000 entered service in November 2018 and delivers a step change in performance and economics compared to the Trent 700. Benefitting from a bypass ratio double that of its predecessor, the Trent 7000 is critical to delivering a fuel burn improvement per seat of 14 per cent on the A330neo.

The Trent 7000 will be the fifth Trent variant to enter service with Virgin Atlantic, the others being Trent 500, Trent 700, Trent 1000 and Trent XWB.

Rolls-Royce www.rolls-royce.com