Rolls-Royce confirms major Airbus orders from Delta Air Lines

European aircraft maker Airbus has won a deal to supply 50 aircraft from Delta Air Lines, with Rolls Royce to supply engines and support worth $5bn.

Rolls Royce confirmed late on Thursday that it had won the $5bn order for Trent engines and provision of its long-term TotalCare service support from Delta Air Lines to power 50 new aircraft.

Its Trent XWB engines will power 25 Airbus A350s with Trent 7000 engines powering a further 25 Airbus A330neo aircraft

Earlier in the day media reports suggested Toulouse-based Airbus has won a hotly-contested competition with Boeing for 50 wide-body aircraft to Delta.

Leeham News, an aviation news site, said Airbus will sell Delta 25 A350-900s and 25 A330-900s and Rolls-Royce is the sole-source engine supplier.

Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rishton said the deal was "further evidence of the success of the Trent XWB in the market and represents a powerful vote of confidence in our newly-launched Trent 7000".

Delta vice president of fleet Strategy and transactions, Nat Pieper, added: "We are pleased to be working closely with Rolls-Royce to power aircraft that will be a vital part of our future, providing a new level of excellence on our Pacific, Atlantic and Latin American routes."

Liberum, which has a 'hold' on Rolls with a 900p target price, had only predicted the contract could be worth up to $3bn to the British company.

Shares in Rolls fell 1.5p or 0.2% to 843p at 08:37 in London. Airbus Group stock was up €0.04 or 0.09% to €47.04 at 09:38 in Paris.