On the Record With
IAN AITKEN, PRESIDENT, ROLLS-ROYCE

Rolls-Royce now powers one-third of all business jets the company boasts. It also claims it and its partners power the world's fastest, longest-range, largest and lightest business jets as well as corporate jetliners.

The company claims that they won a 32-percent market share of business jet engine deliveries in 2001, based on the value of its share of last year's $2.5 billion business jet engine market.

Ian Aitken, Rolls-Royce president, corporate aircraft, said, "We intend to maintain our leading position in this market by continuing to be the supplier of choice for business jet engines and support services. Our success is based on two key elements: continue to provide a stable of technically superior engines, and further improve our customer service so that operators insist on Rolls-Royce engines for their future aircraft."

The company also claims that new corporate jets will require nearly 31,000 engines, valued at $52 billion, over the next 20 years, with 35 percent of deliveries going to fractional ownership programs and 65 percent to traditional business jet owners.

"Over the next 20 years, demand is shifting toward medium and larger aircraft powered by engine thrusts of 6,000 pounds and higher -- a market in which we are well positioned. Demand in the 2,000-pound-thrust category is expected to remain strong. Continued growth of the fractional business is also expected, but not at quite the phenomenal rate as in the recent past. The Supersonic Business Jet is also a possibility within our forecast horizon of 20 years. We are in discussions with several airframers, and our 30 years of supersonic power experience makes us the engine manufacturer of choice," said Aitken.

The number of business jet applications powered by Rolls-Royce, including joint-venture engines, has increased from one to 12 in the last decade. The newest is the Gulfstream V-SP, incorporating the latest variant of the Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofan.

When asked, "How big a slice of the corporate market do you plan to gain in two to three years' time?" Aitken answered, "In the near-term, we will maintain our leading position of around a third of the market, by value. The 9/11 attacks impacted the entire business jet market, and as with most other engine OEMs, we have planned for fewer engine deliveries in 2002 and 2003 than were originally forecast prior to September 11, 2001. We expect a gradual return to 2001 levels in the following several years."

On the subject of what area of the corporate market Rolls-Royce will challenge next, Aitken said, "Rolls-Royce is very strong at the top end of the business jet market, and our partnership with Williams International offers a very efficient range of engines for entry-level aircraft. We will continue to invest in our strong areas, and evaluate those where we can increase our market."

Aitken also told Show News the new challenges for corporate aircraft engine manufacturers are fuel consumption; environmental issues, including cleaner emissions; quieter engines; and power-to-weight ratio.

"Fuel consumption and power-to-weight are equally as important as environmental considerations, and we have the ability to use technologies from our airline engines to answer the challenges ahead. I would add unit and operating cost, because aircraft are increasingly being purchased for their productivity benefits, and operators expect us to deliver outstanding operating costs as well as customer service."

By Mike Vines