Rolls-Royce Enters TotalCare Flex Agreement with Air Canada

Rolls-Royce has announced that it has entered into a TotalCare Flex agreement with Air Canada. The agreement will focus on ensuring availability of the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine until fleet retirement. The Rolls-Royce Trent 700, which first entered service in 1995, powers the Airbus A330-200 and 300 variants.  The engine first entered service in 1995 and was developed from the RB211, which powered the Lockheed L-1011.

TotalCare Flex is a Rolls-Royce product designed to benefit owners and operators of mature engines. According to Rolls-Royce, TotalCare Flex is a further development of the successful TotalCare product, which covers predictive off-wing maintenance planning, and work scope creation/management.

As part of TotalCare Flex, Rolls-Royce can complete an engine swap, a full engine overhaul to maximize on-wing time, or a partial engine overhaul to bring the engine to retirement.  Essentially, TotalCare Flex allows operators of mature engines to contain engine maintenance costs to a fixed level as an engine reaches retirement.

According to Adair Swan, Rolls-Royce’s Program Director for mature large engines, the agreement with Air Canada  “is further evidence of our commitment to transform our services, providing the right care at the right time for our customers’ engines. The Trent 700 is our most successful engine program and kicked off the Trent family success story. As it reaches maturity, we can provide operators with this innovative and flexible service to guarantee the performance of the engine, right up to the aircraft’s final day in service.”

The agreement was also praised by Richard Steer, Air Canada’s Vice President of Operations, who said in a press release, “We are pleased to be the first Trent 700 operator to adopt TotalCare Flex with a long-standing, reputable supplier such as Rolls-Royce. This further extends the strong business partner relationship already established over the years Air Canada has operated the fleet of A330 aircraft, and furthers Air Canada’s goal to operate mature fleets in a cost-effective manner.”

To date, Air Canada’s Trent 700 powered A330s have flown for over 700,000 hours with some reaching approximately 20 years in service. With its robust offering of engine maintenance options, TotalCare Flex will undoubtedly allow Air Canada to efficiently operate its Trent 700 powered A330 fleet to retirement.  In addition to the Trent 700, Rolls-Royce also offers TotalCare Flex for its Trent 500 and 800 engines, which power the Airbus A340-500/600 and Boeing 777, respectively.

The Rolls-Royce/Air Canada TotalCare Flex agreement is yet another example of the increasing popularity of manufacturer-sponsored maintenance programs. The popularity of such programs is no surprise, as they allow carriers to operate and maintain their fleets more efficiently and cost-effectively.  Other examples of manufacturer-sponsored maintenance programs include Flight Hour Services offered by Airbus and Embraer’s Total Support Program.

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Jordan Green

Jordan joined the AG team in 2018 after attending AAviationDay in Philadelphia.He is actively pursuing his private pilot certificate and has been an aviation enthusiast since childhood.An attorney by trade, Jordan jokingly refers to himself as a “recovering litigator” and now focuses on subcontracts management.

Jordan focuses his writing on innovations in commercial aviation, aviation history, and other interesting topics he feels are worthy of discussion in the community.

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