Rolls-Royce today joined STARLUX Airlines and Airbus in celebrating the official signing of the agreement for 17 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and for Trent XWB engines.

STARLUX Airlines also signed a contract for Rolls-Royce’s flagship TotalCare® long-term services for the engines.

The ceremony took place in Taipei, home base of STARLUX Airlines, which will use the aircraft to develop a network spanning destinations across Asia and long-haul services to North America.

The Trent XWB is the world’s most efficient large aero engine flying today and the world’s fastest-selling widebody engine with more than 1,800 in service or on order. It has delivered the smoothest entry into service of any widebody engine, with a despatch reliability of 99.9% across three million flying hours.

K. W. Chang, STARLUX Airlines, Founder and Chairman, said: “We are very glad to celebrate this important moment together with Airbus and Rolls-Royce today. I believe the signing of the official purchase deal for these excellent aircraft will not only strengthen our partnerships, but also boost the development of STARLUX to become one of the best airlines in the world.”

Paul Freestone, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Customers, Civil Aerospace, said: “We are delighted with the trust that STARLUX Airlines has placed in Rolls-Royce and extremely proud to support another new and important customer with our world-leading Trent XWB engines.”

STARLUX announced its selection of the aircraft, 12 A350-1000s and five A350-900s, at Farnborough Airshow last year.

The Trent family of seven different engines has now accumulated more than 125 million flying hours since the first Trent entered service in 1995.