DUBAI - Emirates, the international airline of the UAE, has signed an agreement with the GE-P&W Engine Alliance to purchase the GP7000 engine family to power the airline's Super Jumbo Airbus A380-800 aircraft. 



A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed earlier this year at the Singapore Air Show for 88 firm GP7200 engines, an order which has a list price, including options, of approximately $1.5 billion. It is the largest single engine order for the A380 aircraft. 



Emirates is the main launch customer of the A380, with 22 firm aircraft and 10 options. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered by September 2006. 



Emirates' Chairman, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, signed the General Terms Agreement (GTA) with Lloyd B. Thompson, President of the GE-P&W Engine Alliance, on Wednesday in Dubai. Sheikh Ahmed said: “We are pleased to be one of the first customers for the GE-P&W Engine Alliance and to be involved throughout with the design of its new GP7000 engines, which will give us a great opportunity to share our airline experience with our new partners.” 



Emirates' order is for GP7270 engines, rated at 70,000 pounds (311 kN) of thrust, to power its 20 passenger versions of the A380-800 aircraft and GP7277 engines, rated at 76,500 (340 kN) pounds of thrust, to power the two freighters included in the aircraft order. 



The Alliance’s Thompson said: “The GE-P&W Engine Alliance, along with its parent companies, GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.” 



Emirates, one of the world's fastest-growing airlines, operates a modern fleet of aircraft which boasts an average age of just three years and includes Boeing and Airbus aircraft. With the recent addition of new routes to Casablanca and Khartoum, Emirates flies to 58 destinations in 41 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Far East, Asia and Australia. 



The Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between GEAE and P&W, a United Technologies company (NYSE: UTX), was formed in August 1996 to develop, manufacture, sell and support a family of modern technology engines for high-capacity, long-range aircraft. GEAE's share participants are Snecma Moteurs of France and MTU of Germany, while Pratt & Whitney has also retained MTU as a share participant. Visit the Engine Alliance online at: http://www.enginealliance.com.