Rolls-Royce welcomes the entry into service of the first of 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft for China Southern Airlines. The aircraft is powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine – the most fuel-efficient large aero engine flying today. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, followed by flights to international destinations.
The Trent XWB is the largest of the Trent engine family. Since its maiden flight it has achieved over 3 million flying hours and covered more than 1.5 billion miles – the equivalent of flying to the sun and back eight times. It helps connect 99 cities worldwide with more than 450 different routes.
“We congratulate China Southern Airlines on the delivery of its first Airbus A350-900,” said Paul Freestone, Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President – Customers, Civil Aerospace. “We are proud to demonstrate the power of our Trent engines through industry-leading reliability, excellent fuel efficiency and environmental performance to a valued customer serving one of the largest markets in civil aviation.”
The Trent XWB is specifically designed for the A350 and is the largest-selling engine for widebody aircraft, with more than 1,800 sold globally to date. The Trent XWB is a member of the Trent family of seven engines, which collectively have accumulated more than 125 million flying hours since the first Trent entered service in 1995.
With its new aircraft China Southern Airlines extends its relationship with Rolls-Royce and the Trent family of engines by adding the Trent XWB to a fleet that already includes the Trent 700 powering the Airbus A330 and Trent 900 on the Airbus A380.
Notes to editors
Trent XWB – incredible engineering by numbers:
• It sucks in up to 1.3 tonnes of air, the equivalent of a squash court, every second at take-off
• The force on a fan blade at take-off is equivalent to a load of almost 90 tons, the same as nine London buses hanging off each blade
• High Pressure Turbine blades inside the engine rotate at 12,500 rpm, with their tips reaching 1,200mph – twice the speed of sound
• At take off each of the engine’s High Pressure Turbine blades generates around 900 horsepower per blade – the equivalent to that of a Formula One racing car