Airline opts to equip its second batch of on-order A380s with original powerplant choice in expected $1.5 billion deal
Emirates has confirmed that it will retain continuity in powerplants for its second batch of Airbus A380s, placing a $1.5 billion order with the General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance for more than 100 engines.
Announcing the widely expected deal, Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said: "Because of the size of the follow-on order, we could have had two different manufacturers providing the powerplants for the A380. But we again decided that the GP7200 was the ideal engine for Emirates."
Emirates added the second batch of 23 A380s (including two leased from International Lease Finance) to its initial order for 21 aircraft at the Paris air show in June. Delivery of the new batch will begin in 2009, three years after the airline's first A380s arrive in September 2006.
The new deal comprises 92 installed engines and nine spares. The alliance's total engine contract with Emirates covers 199 engines worth $3 billion.
The Engine Alliance's rival, Rolls-Royce, confirms that it bid to supply engines for the follow-on deal, and sources at the UK manufacturer say they are disappointed but not surprised about the airline's decision.
The Engine Alliance says the new deal gives it a 62% market share of the A380 engine business, with the engine having been specified for 67 of the 110 aircraft on firm order where a selection has been made. Three A380 airline customers are yet to select an engine - Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.
Meanwhile, Engine Alliance partner GE Aircraft Engines is to build a $45 million engine test facility for Emirates in Dubai, which will open in 2006. The complex will be able to test engines of up to 150,000lb thrust (670kN) - over 20,000lb greater than the record thrust level achieved by the GE90 engine in tests. Emirates will begin operating the 115,000lb-thrust GE90-115B in March 2005, when it receives the first of 25 Boeing 777-300ERs it is acquiring on lease.
Source: Flight International
