Rolls-Royce fleet engine hours buck global trend and increase,

At a Paris Air Show briefing yesterday Rolls-Royce said that despite the challenges still facing the civil aerospace industry, its own fleet had grown to 10,000 engines and witnessed an increase in flying hours.

Against a backdrop of a two% fall in global flying hours during 2002, Mike Terrett, President - Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce said the company's civil fleet had seen its flying hours increase by seven per cent in 2002.

Terrett acknowledged the pressures on the industry and said Rolls-Royce civil engine deliveries had experienced order deferrals as a result of the SARS virus. But a continuing level of order activity had ensured Rolls-Royce had further established itself as the clear number two aero engine manufacturer, with a 30 per cent share of the civil market, averaged over the past three years.

This included winning more than half the engine business on the latest widebody aircraft, where firm and option orders for the Trent series totalled 1,670 engines from 40 customers.

"Our business model, based on a growing installed base and expanding activities to support our customers' operations, is continuing to deliver. Aftermarket services are a growing part of Rolls-Royce business - in 2002 they contributed 44 per cent of total company revenues - and that is certainly reflected in civil sector trends. For instance,60 per cent of the Trent fleet is currently managed through long-term TotalCare service contracts, and that percentage is even higher in our BR715 and AE 3007 regional jet programmes.

"We have added to our network of aftermarket facilities with the recent announcement of N3 Engine Overhaul Services - a joint venture with Lufthansa Technik - which strengthens our links with Lufthansa, whose new Airbus widebody fleet will be totally Rolls-Royce powered."

He emphasised the on-going changes within the Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace business itself, highlighting the drive for greater operational efficiency with discussions already underway with the workforce covering such proposals as extended build lines and a new repair and overhaul facility at Derby.

Terrett revealed that discussions with Boeing on the proposed 7E7 programme had included ideas on expanding current thinking on support contracts to include new forms of comprehensive, long-term service agreements.

"We believe there are new business models based on a services-driven approach which would add significant value to 7E7 customer operations. Rolls-Royce has developed this aspect of its business consistently in recent years and there is certainly scope for further innovation."

Terrett said the unique Rolls-Royce three-shaft design would again be at the heart of a potential Trent '7E7' which would draw on the company's Vision10 technology acquisition programmes to deliver further improvements in thrust to weight ratio, low noise and emissions characteristics and simplified build through reduced parts count. The Trent '7E7' would also feature advanced engine health monitoring software as part of an emphasis on a "services approach to design".

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