Rolls-Royce wins $1.5 billion engine order with China Eastern Airlines

LONDON (Reuters) - British engineering company Rolls-Royce said it won a $1.5 billion order for its Trent 700 engines from China Eastern Airlines <600115.SS> to power 15 of the Chinese carrier's Airbus A330 aircraft. Rolls-Royce said its Trent 700 engine had been chosen for about 70 percent of new A330 orders over the last five years. That engine, however, is behind some of the company's current difficulties - its profit is forecast to more than halve this year - as some airline customers wait for the newer, more fuel efficient Trent 7000, which powers the A330neo, leading to lower pricing on the Trent 700. Rolls-Royce said under the deal announced on Wednesday it would also provide China Eastern with maintenance services for the engines as part of its TotalCare offering. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)