Contract Awarded

ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
13 September 1999


ROLLS-ROYCE WINS £40 MILLION BRITISH MIDLAND R&O CONTRACT

Rolls-Royce plc has won a long-term maintenance contract for the V2500 engines
which power British Midland's new fleet of Airbus Industrie A320 series
aircraft.  The deal is worth £40 million over ten years.

British Midland currently plans to operate a total of 22 A320s and A321s, the
first of which entered service in April 1998. 

Ian Lloyd, Managing Director Rolls-Royce Aero Repair and Overhaul, said: 'This
is an important contract won in the face of stiff competition. It expands our
long standing relationship with British Midland which began with Dart and Spey
engines, and generates long term work for our repair and overhaul business in
Scotland.'

Iain Lachlan, Managing Director of British Midland Engineering said:  'British
Midland is happy to extend our successful working relationship with
Rolls-Royce.  The agreement is important to us not only because it ensures top
quality maintenance standards to the British Midland fleet but also because we
will be able to offer its major benefits to British Midland Engineering's
customers, thereby ensuring highly competitive engine maintenance to both
large and small operators.'

V2500 maintenance will take place at East Kilbride, near Glasgow. The facility
already handles the Rolls-Royce Tay which powers British Midland's Fokker jet
fleet.

The East Kilbride facility also reworks the Rolls-Royce AE 3007 engine,
applications for which include the Embraer RJ-135 and RJ-145 regional jets. 
Last year British Midland placed an order for 10 firm and five option
ERJ-145s, and Rolls-Royce is currently bidding for the fleet's repair and
overhaul business.  


Note to editors:
The V2500 is manufactured by International Aero Engines (IAE), the four nation
partnership between Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, the Japanese Aero Engines
Corporation and MTU DaimlerChrysler.  British Midland's A320s fly with the
27,000lb V2527-A5, while the A321 uses IAE's most powerful variant, the
33,000lb thrust V2533-A5.

For more information please contact:

Emma Medd-Sygrove
Rolls-Royce Corporate Communications
Tel: [phone]       Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]