Rolls-Royce wins Trent 500 order from Virgin At...

5 August, 2004

ROLLS-ROYCE WINS TRENT 500 FOLLOW-ON ORDER FROM VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Rolls-Royce announced today (5 August) that it had won an order for Trent 500
engines to power up to 26 additional A340-600 aircraft for Virgin Atlantic
Airways. The contract is potentially worth $1.3 billion at engine list prices.
Deliveries will be between 2006 and 2008.

Today's announcement involves an agreement by Virgin Atlantic and Airbus to
take delivery of 13 new A340-600s, with options for a further 13.

The airline currently has seven A340-600s in service following initial
deliveries from an earlier order for 12 of the four-engined, long-distance
jetliners.

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways, said: "This is by
some way the biggest aircraft order in Virgin Atlantic's history and will
enable us to double the size of the airline over the next five years.

"The order is also great news for British industry, with a significant role
being played by Rolls-Royce. Not only are we extending our relationship by
potentially taking over 100 additional Trent 500 engines, but we look forward
subsequently to bringing the new Trent 900 into service on our A380s."

Charles Cuddington, Managing Director, Airlines, Rolls-Royce, added: "Repeat
business provides a clear indication that expectations are being met in
service. As launch customer for the combination of the A340-600 and Trent 500,
Virgin Atlantic recently marked the second anniversary of the start of
commercial operations, so today's order provides double cause for celebration.

"It also highlights the fact that, thanks to the teamwork of our engineers,
partners, suppliers and the expertise of our operators, the Trent 500 is
proving to be a world-beater."

In June, the engine claimed its place in the record books by powering an
A340-500 on the longest ever non-stop commercial flight of 18 hours and 18
minutes.

The world fleet of 42 A340-500s and -600s now in service is setting
industry-best reliability standards with dispatch levels of 99.82 per cent and
an engine removal rate of 0.095 per 1,000 flying hours.

The Trent 500 is the only engine offered on latest versions of the A340, a
53,000lb thrust version powering the A340-500, while a 56,000lb thrust variant
is installed on the higher-capacity A340-600.

Risk and revenue sharing partners on the programme are Avio, Goodrich Engine
Control Systems, Hamilton Sundstrand, Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP),
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI), Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI),
Marubeni, TechJet, Turbomeca Africa and Volvo Aero.

The Trent family has an overall market share of 50 per cent in the high-thrust
engine sector where it competes on the latest-generation wide-body airliners.

Corporate note to editors

Rolls-Royce operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defence
aerospace, marine and energy. It is investing in technology and capability that
can be exploited in each of these sectors to create a competitive range of
products.

The success of these products is demonstrated by the company's rapid and
substantial gains in market share over recent years. The company now has a
total of 54,000 gas turbines in service worldwide. The investments in product,
capability and infrastructure to gain this market position create high barriers
to entry.

Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000
corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces and
more than 2,000 marine customers, including 50 navies. The company has energy
customers in nearly 120 countries. Rolls-Royce employs around 35,000 people, of
which 21,000 are in the UK. Forty per cent of its employees are based outside
the UK - including 5,000 in the rest of Europe and 8,000 in North America.

The large installed base of engines generates demand for the provision of
services. A key element of the company's strategy is to maximize services
revenues, which have increased by 60 per cent over the past five years, by the
provision of a comprehensive portfolio of services.

Annual sales total nearly £6 billion, of which more than 50 per cent are
services revenues. The order book is more than £19 billion, which, together
with demand for services, provides visibility as to future activity levels.

Photography/images for use by the media are available from the Rolls-Royce
website:

http://www.rolls-royce.com/media/gallery/civil/lrg_trent500.htm

http://www.rolls-royce.com/media/gallery/civil/lrg_trent500_4.htm

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For further information contact:

Martin Johnson

Vice President, Communications

Rolls-Royce

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