Rolls loses £1bn engines deal

AERO engine maker Rolls-Royce has been defeated by a rival US bid over a deal worth up to £1bn. Dubai airline Emirates has chosen Pratt & Whitney and General Electric to jointly supply the engines for 22 A380 superjumbos.

The deal for the pair's GP7000 engine makes up all of the ground lost so far to Rolls-Royce in the two-horse race to power A380s already ordered.

The aircraft are built by the Airbus consortium and Emirates has options on 10 more.

GE Aircraft Engines chief executive David Calhoun denied his company and Pratt had approached the Emirates deal as something they had to win at all costs.

But in London, HSBC industry analysts interpreted the loss as meaning that Rolls-Royce was not willing to do crazy deals. 'Loss of the Emirates order implies market share is not at any price,' the bank said.

Rolls-Royce shares were down 6 3/4p to 154 3/4p at midday.