5 ways the Trent XWB changed civil aviation

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5 ways the Trent XWB changed civil aviation

It’s the world’s most efficient large aero engine, with each of its 68 HP turbine blades generating the same horsepower as that of a Formula One engine.

And it’s changed civil aviation forever – enabling longer flights, greater passenger comfort, and a more efficient use of fuel. Here, we look at the ways that the Trent XWB has been truly pioneering.

1. Enabling the longest commercial flight in the world

The Trent XWB has made it possible for the Airbus A350 to stay in the air longer than any other commercial flight. That’s Singapore to Newark with no stopovers. Seventeen hours, fifty two minutes. A distance of 15,345 km. Or, to put it another way, breakfast, lunch, dinner and – why not? – another breakfast.

2. Breaking the ETOPS record

In 2014, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency certified the A350 XWB, powered exclusively by the Trent XWB, for a record-breaking 370 minutes ETOPS. But what does this mean for passengers? An aircraft that’s more reliable, more efficient, and quicker too.

A maximum diversion time of six hours and 10 minutes (370 mins) from the nearest airport means that A350 XWB operators are able to fly in a straighter course – making flights quicker and more fuel efficient. It will also improve the directness of southern routes between Australia, South Africa and South America, and make transoceanic flights more efficient. Better for the passenger and the planet.

3. Raising the bar by exceeding expectations

Looking at the Trent XWB today, four years and three million flying hours since its release, it continues to surpass all expectations for time on-wing (for a new engine type). The Trent XWB is now the benchmark engine in its class for both reliability and efficiency.

The Trent XWB engine, which has recently come in for its first overhaul shop visit, completed close to 20,000 hours in-service. In this time, it covered almost 15 million km, or the rough equivalent of flying around the world more than 350 times.

4. A ‘natural’ approach

The A350 XWB is greener and less costly to run than its predecessors; its wings are inspired by the natural world and its Trent XWB engines are designed to minimise impact on it.

In fact, the Trent XWB cuts fuel use by 15% (compared to the first generation Trent engine) and delivers $2.9m savings per-year, per-aircraft – on fuel alone.

And while Rolls-Royce has created a quieter engine by design, reducing noise pollution, Airbus engineers are now looking to the skies towards the same end – studying the serration on the wings of owls, who glide silently through the night, to aid new design modelling.

5. The fastest selling widebody engine – ever

More than 1,800 Trent XWB engines have been sold worldwide across more than 30 countries. When Taiwanese airline Starlux placed an order for 17 A350 XWBs in March 2019, Starlux’s founder K.W. Chang cited range and low operating costs as key factors in their decision to select the model.

Since its maiden journey, the engine has flown over 1.5 billion miles – the equivalent of eight trips to the sun and back. And, as the aircraft the Trent XWB powers is now flying more than 500 routes and connecting 99 cities, it won’t be long before it racks up another billion.

To learn more about the Trent family, visit our Power of Trent hub.

Power of Trent

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Rolls-Royce develops and delivers complex power and propulsion solutions for safety-critical applications in the air, at sea and on land.







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