R-R unveils £1.4bn Emirates service deal

Rolls-Royce revealed another contracts boost yesterday with a long-term services deal with airline Emirates worth some £1.4 billion.

The agreement, under its "TotalCare" scheme, will see Rolls' technicians maintain the Trent engines of 70 Airbus planes the airline is due to take delivery of in the next few years.

It follows a 700 million deal in November to service the Rolls engines on 48 Emirates aircraft already being flown or on order by the airline.

Civil aerospace division president Mark King said: "With this contract all of Emirates' Rolls-Royce powered fleet are, or will be, supported by TotalCare packages that add significant value and allow customers to optimise their operations."

Rolls faced a crisis in November when one of its Trent 900 engines exploded in mid-air, forcing a Qantas superjumbo flying between Singapore and Sydney into an emergency landing.

But the company has won a number of orders since the incident, including a 3.2bn deal to supply British Airways with engines for up to 61 aircraft. It has also won a 1.1bn order from Air China to supply and service 20 engines on its Airbus planes, as well as a deal worth 750m with China Eastern Airlines.