Rolls‑Royce has advanced a contract to power a new fleet of Airbus long‑haul jets for Philippine Airlines. The FTSE‑100 company will deliver 18 Trent XWB‑97 engines for nine new A350‑1000 aircraft in a deal valued at hundreds of millions of pounds. The agreement also covers a maintenance package, meaning Rolls‑Royce will continue to service and monitor the engines throughout their operational life, officials said.
The government welcomed the deal, noting it would bring good‑quality jobs to the company’s Derby base. The order was first announced as a memorandum of understanding at the Farnborough International Airshow in July. At that time, Rob Watson, president of civil airspace at Rolls‑Royce, said the company was proud to continue strengthening its long‑standing relationship with Philippine Airlines.
While the precise value has not been confirmed, the contract is described as worth hundreds of millions. Airbus designs and manufactures wings for all its commercial aircraft at its Broughton site in North Wales. Minister for trade Anas Sarwar said the news shows British engineering is flying high with world‑class innovation that puts UK companies at the front of the pack. He added that building these engines and wings brings good‑quality jobs to Derby and Broughton, and means UK expertise is at the heart of thousands of flights by one of the fastest‑growing airlines around the world.
The Trent XWB‑97 engine can operate using a 50% sustainable aviation fuel blend, with plans to run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel in the future. This order follows Philippine Airlines’ previous 2023 order for nine Trent XWB‑97‑powered A350‑1000 aircraft.
