Rolls-Royce eyes engine supply deal

British manufacturer and GE set to join bidding process for CR929 jet in May

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, the British aircraft engine manufacturer, says it will join the bid to provide the engines for the CR929 long-range, twin-aisle passenger aircraft, and the first round of bidding will start in May. The result is expected to be unveiled by the end of this year or next year.

In December, the maker of the CR929, China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Co Ltd, issued the request for proposals for the aircraft's engines. Rolls-Royce and General Electric, among others, are expected to respond, according to CRAIC.

"We are taking it very seriously. We want to be the engine provider. The CR929 will invite a lot of positive competition and innovative opportunities to the aviation industry," said Paul Stein, chief technology officer of Rolls-Royce.

"China has an ambition in developing its civil aviation industry. Rolls-Royce wants to be part of that ambition and growth," Stein said in Beijing on April 13.

He added that the engineering and technology team of Rolls-Royce has been in close and continuous contact with CRAIC, to ensure the potential engine to be used will best fit the aircraft.

Currently, Rolls-Royce accounts for 45 percent of the engine market for wide-body aircraft, followed by General Electric Co and United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney Division.

"The CR929 will be an excellent aircraft. We want to offer something we know already, which is the engine with one of the latest proven technologies. We want to guarantee the commercial success of this new aircraft model," Stein said.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce said it is important for industry manufacturers to integrate the latest digital technologies to increase the pace and quality of their products and services. The company is increasing efforts to improve its intelligent engines, which can monitor the performance of the engines and weather conditions via cloud computing.

In addition, Rolls-Royce says it has been in discussion about potential cooperation opportunities with Chinese companies, including aircraft engine manufacturers.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China earlier said it is also trying to research and develop engines itself, together with Russia.

In the next two decades, demand for military aircraft engines is expected to reach $150 billion (121.6 billion euros; ￡105 billion), and the demand for civil aircraft engines will be $1.6 trillion, according to the forecast by Rolls-Royce.

"China's booming growth in international flights requires wide-body aircraft. The country spends a large amount of money buying planes from Boeing and Airbus," says Lin Zhijie, an aviation industry analyst and columnist at Carnoc, one of China's largest civil aviation web portals.

"The potential commercial use of the CR929 will significantly help to reduce the cost of aircraft purchases, and domestic airlines will be able to raise their profitability and offer cheaper tickets to customers."

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

( China Daily European Weekly 04/20/2018 page27)