A spokesman for Air China Limited, said: “Air China is very pleased to have reached this agreement with Rolls-Royce. The Trent 700 engine offers outstanding reliability and performance. This order marks the beginning of a much closer relationship between Air China and Rolls-Royce.”

Mike Terrett, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, said: “This is a significant decision by China’s flag carrier. Not only does it mark the first appearance of the Trent engine in Air China’s colours, it also strengthens our presence in the world’s fastest growing aerospace market. As the most powerful engine on the A330, the Trent 700 will provide Air China with excellent performance from more demanding airports such as Lhasa. This order is a welcome expression of confidence in Rolls-Royce.”

In a separate announcement, the company said it was to buy a new flying test bed for future engine developments. It is converting a Boeing 747-200 to serve as the test bed with the first engine to be tested on the aircraft, in mid 2007, being the Trent 1000, currently being developed as launch engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The RB211-524C2-powered aircraft, acquired by Rolls-Royce from Air Atlanta Icelandic, is now in Texas, where it will be adapted by airframe integration specialists, L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, and will be based at the company’s Waco facilities.

Programme manager Clive Barton said: “Having our own aircraft gives Rolls-Royce total flexibility in the way future flight test programmes are planned. The Boeing 747 is an ideal test platform, because it can accommodate a wide range of engine sizes and thrusts which may be involved in future developments.”

Airborne testing for all four previous versions of the Trent has been carried out using flying test beds owned by Airbus or Boeing.

In March, Rolls-Royce announced it would close its UK engine testing at Hucknall near Nottingham by the end of 2007.