ROLLS Royce shares jumped 6% yesterday after the aero engine maker announced a landmark deal to supply engines for a new generation of superjumbo airliners.

ILFC, a US aircraft leasing company, placed a #620m order for Rolls Royce jet engines to power up to 37 new airliners, including an unspecified number of Airbus A3XX superjumbos, which will carry up to 555 passengers on two decks.

Rolls Royce beat US rivals General Electric and Pratt & Whitney in the race for the first contract to supply engines for the A3XX, whose first buyers were announced at Farnborough airshow last month. Rolls Royce will build a new variant of its large Trent engine to power the new plane. ILFC has so far announced firm orders for five of them.

The US company, which buys planes and then leases them to airlines, also selected other versions of the Trent to power several Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 airliners. ILFC said that altogether it had selected Rolls Royce engines for up to 37 new planes.

Rolls Royce shares jumped 10.5p to 185.5p on news of the deal, which should help underpin the future of company's component factory at Hillington on the southern outskirts of Glasgow and its engine repair and maintenance centre in East Kilbride.

John Cheffins, Rolls Royce's managing director for airlines, underlined the importance of the new Trent 900 engine being selected to power the A3XX.

''The engine is tailored for the aircraft and today's news gives us a strong position on that programme,'' he said in a statement.

Engines account for about 25% of an airliner's value.