SINGAPORE AIRLINES SELECTS ROLLS ROYCE TRENT ENGINES TO POWER AIRBUS A3X X AIRCRAFT

Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced today that it has selected Rolls Royce Trent 900 series engines to power its 25 super-jumbo A3XX very large aircraft.

On 29 September 2000, SIA announced that its US$8.6 billion A3XX order included the cost of installed engines and spares, but not spare engines. The cost of the Trent 900 series spare engines will add another US$245 million to the price tag.

Said SIA Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Cheong Choong Kong: “Both the Trent 900 series and the alternative proposed by the GE/Pratt & Whitney Alliance met our technical requirements, and both manufacturers submitted attractive proposals. But having put all the relevant factors in the melting pot, we decided that Rolls Royce had the edge.”

With a fan diameter of 116 inches, the Trent 900 will be initially rated at 70,000 pounds of thrust. It will incorporate a three-shaft design and will be a scaled version of the proven Trent 800, which powers SIA’s Boeing 777 fleet. The engine will also be designed to meet the stringent QC2 noise certification on the A3XX.

SIA will be the launch airline for the A3XX, which will join its fleet in 2006. Deliveries will be scheduled over a five-year period. The aircraft has a range of 7,500 nautical miles, in SIA’s configuration. SIA intends to deploy it on its high-density routes to London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney. The A3XX routes to the USA will entail an intermediate point. They will complement the non-stop services that SIA plans to operate to US points in 2002 with the super-long-range Airbus A340-500.