OREANDA-NEWS. Rolls-Royce today congratulated Ethiopian Airlines on becoming Africa’s first operator of the Airbus A350 XWB, powered by the world’s most efficient large civil aero engine, the Trent XWB.

The aircraft flew from Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, Ethiopia.

The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the only engine that powers the A350 XWB and more than 1,600 engines have already been sold to 42 customers.

The A350 XWB delivers a 25 per cent fuel burn improvement compared to previous generation aircraft. The Trent XWB is also one of the quietest engines that Rolls-Royce has ever produced for the wide-body market.

Ethiopian Airlines has ordered a total of 14 A350 XWBs, two on lease from AerCap.

Ato Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines, Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a significant moment in the history of our airline as we become Africa’s first operator of the Airbus A350 XWB. The Trent XWB helps this aircraft deliver outstanding service and set new standards for passenger experience, efficiency and reliability. We thank our partners at Rolls-Royce for their support and look forward to a continued and successful partnership”

Tom Williams, Airbus, Chief Operating Officer, said: “Ethiopian Airlines has a proud reputation for excellence in operation and customer service. We at Airbus are equally proud that our A350 XWB is the platform that will re-enforce this. We are celebrating the delivery of Africa’s first A350 XWB and we congratulate Ethiopian Airlines, AerCap and Rolls-Royce on this achievement.”

Simon Burr, Rolls-Royce, Director Engineering and Technology – Civil Aerospace, said: “We are very proud to be with Ethiopian Airlines and Airbus today to celebrate another milestone in the global A350 XWB story. We are honoured to support Ethiopian Airlines’ growth plans, powering new aircraft that deliver new levels of service.”

Rolls-Royce’s vision is to be the market-leader in high performance power systems where our engineering expertise, global reach and deep industry knowledge deliver outstanding customer relationships and solutions. We operate across five businesses: Civil Aerospace, Defence Aerospace, Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems.

Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 120 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 4,000 marine customers including 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.