Rolls-Royce is on the verge of signing a new contract to supply an unnamed airline with its Trent 1000 aircraft engine as it squares up to US rival GE.

The deal will help it win back market share after years of problems with the engine.

Rolls has staged an astonishing recovery under the leadership of boss Tufan Erginbilgic, who has regained customers’ trust after the Trent 1000 experienced years of problems, including cracks and erosion. 

Rolls is upgrading customers’ engines and, earlier this year, won back LATAM Airlines with a deal to power three 787 aircraft.

Yesterday, Rolls executive Celine Bouas said a new deal was in the offing, adding: ‘The last three or four months have been really positive. There’s one very mature deal in the pipeline.’

Bouas said the client had bought engines from rivals such as GE and CFM for decades, and she hoped to announce the order soon.