UK-based Rolls Royce has won more than $5bn-worth of contracts with Gulf airlines Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Both deals were announced at the Dubai Air Show on 17 and 18 November respectively.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has placed a $5bn order for 113 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines to power its 50 new wide-body Airbus A350 XWB aircraft and two Trent 700 engines for an Airbus A330-200 Freighter.

Qatar Airways has placed an order for $300m Trent 700 engines to power five Airbus A330 freighter aircraft. The Airbus freighter order was announced earlier at the Dubai airshow.

The Trent 700 is an engine specifically designed for the A330.

The success of Rolls Royce further strengthens UK-Gulf trade relations, particularly in the aerospace sector.

The UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron visited the Dubai airshow on its opening day and is helping promote the sale of the Eurofighter jet system to the Gulf.