British Airways is switching to General Electric engines for its new Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners in a blow to UK manufacturer Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, which supplied the carrier’s existing 787 fleet with turbines.
The airline, owned by IAG SA, has selected the GEnx engines for six new 787s, GE Aerospace said in a statement on Monday. British Airways’ existing fleet of 38 Dreamliners are powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, which is the alternative powerplant for the model.
The GE engine now powers about two-thirds of the more than 1,100 787s in service, according to the statement.