A330 engine upgrade eyed

Airbus Group will decide by the end of March whether to offer more efficient engines for its A330 wide-body jet. The A330 currently offers engines from GE, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney. The A330 competes against Boeing's 787, powered by either GE or Rolls-Royce engines. (Source: Bloomberg, 01/29/14) Gulf Coast note: Airbus Group, the former EADS, proposed using the A330 MRTT platform for Air Force aerial tankers it hoped to build in Mobile, Ala. That project went to Boeing. Airbus is now building an A320 final assembly line in Mobile; GE Aviation builds engine parts at facilities in Auburn, Ala., Ellisville and Batesville, Miss.; Rolls-Royce tests jetliner engines at Stennis Space Center, Miss.