by Tim Hepher, Alexander Cornwell and Pesha Magid

DUBAI (Reuters) – Airbus won an order for 15 A350-900s from Emirates on Thursday after a disagreement between the airline and engine maker Rolls-Royce on the eve of the end of the Dubai air show .

“The A350-900s will complement our fleet and we are pleased to announce new orders for this type of aircraft,” Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.

Industry sources described the deal, worth $6 billion (€5.52 billion), as a “compromise” after Emirates publicly criticized the performance and cost of Rolls-Royce engines for the A350-1000 due to the time between each maintenance, which the airline considers to be too short.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said Emirates will work closely with Airbus and Rolls-Royce to ensure the aircraft provide its customers with the best possible operational efficiency and flying experience.

Emirates is by far the largest user of the Airbus A380, the world’s largest airliner. The company is currently planning the fleet to keep its Dubai super-hub at the center of the aviation map beyond the 2030s.

The airline opened the Dubai Air Show this week with a $52 billion order for 90 more Boeing 777Xs, saying the U.S. maker appeared to have a handle on regulatory and other issues surrounding the program for the world’s largest jet, due in 2025 after five years of delay.

But Tim Clark, chairman of Emirates, refused to place an order for the largely similar Airbus A350-1000 and sharply criticized Rolls-Royce over the engine’s durability.

Rolls-Royce acknowledged that its engine for the A350-1000 would require more maintenance than Emirates would like, but denied Clark’s suggestion that the engine was “defective”.

Emirates had already ordered 50 A350-900s, scheduled for delivery from August next year.

Delegates previously said an additional order for the same model would be seen as a consolation prize for Airbus, with Boeing having won the majority of contracts. Furthermore, this questions its ability to compete with the 777X in the very active wide-body market in the Gulf.

Boeing secured new orders for 196 aircraft at the Dubai Airshow, while Airbus secured deals for 55 jets.

Airbus said it had reached an “agreement in principle” for a large order from Turkish Airlines, but industry sources said the deal had not yet been signed.

(Tim Hepher, Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Diana Mandiá for the French service, editing by Kate Entringer)

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