DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates said on Tuesday it would not finalize an Airbus A350-1000 order in the near term due to a dispute with Rolls-Royce over the maintenance of its engines.
Speaking a day after a $50 billion Boeing 777X order, Dubai airline chairman Tim Clark said Rolls-Royce’s planned time between maintenance on the A350 engine- 1000 was way too short.
He specified that Emirates was ready to order between 30 and 50 aircraft from the European aircraft manufacturer if the British engine manufacturer improved its delivery times and maintenance costs.
In a statement, Rolls-Royce said it “looks forward to supporting Emirates’ future fleet growth plans.”
Airbus commercial director Christian Scherer, for his part, defended Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB-97 engine, emphasizing that it is used by many airlines around the world.
Emirates has ordered 50 of the A350-900 model, which is equipped with a different Rolls-Royce engine, but has not yet received deliveries.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, French version Tangi Salaün, editing by Kate Entringer)
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