The Trent XWB: let me count the ways

Alert

Close
Home
Media
Our stories

The Trent XWB: let me count the ways

If you’re looking for an adjective to describe the Trent XWB, you’ll be spoilt for choice. It’s an extremely efficient, impressively versatile, ultra-reliable, unbelievably popular engine powerhouse that’s in a league of its own. As the Trent XWB approaches five years of exclusively powering the Airbus A350 family and passes five million engine flying hours, we can add another adjective to the list: incredibly durable.

Here we look at what makes the Trent XWB so special, keeping it in the dictionary as well as the record books.

World-beating levels of efficiency

The Trent XWB is the most efficient large aero engine flying today. If you’ve been lucky enough to fly on an Airbus A350, you’ll have experienced a quieter cabin, thanks to a serious reduction in noise.

On an A350, you can also fly safe in the knowledge that the Trent XWB engines burn less fuel and produce fewer emissions than any other large engine. It flies farther on less fuel – reducing fuel consumption by 15% compared to the first Trent engine and contributing to the aircraft’s 25% fuel burn reduction, compared to previous-generation aircraft.

The secret to making the Trent XWB so efficient? A combination of improved technology, lightweight materials, a high bypass ratio, and the continuous improvements in efficiency we’ve made across the Trent family of engines over the past 25 years.

Proven durability

While the Trent XWB enjoyed the smoothest entry into service of any large engine ever, its durability over time is the real test of its metal (no pun intended). The first Trent XWB engines to enter service are now being overhauled for the first time. During an overhaul, engineers take the engine apart, replace parts that show signs of wear and tear, clean it, then put the engine back together and inspect and test it extensively before it re-enters service.

The Trent XWB has reached what we call its first overhaul life, meaning it’s behaved exactly how we wanted it to over time. It’s easy to forget that engines are pushing the boundaries of physics every day, coping with the harshest environments. The Trent XWB’s impressive durability gives operators peace of mind, as well as planned and predictable maintenance schedules.

Steadfast reliability

In the aviation industry, the phrase ‘dispatch reliability’ is used – it’s a fancy way of saying that an engine is ready to take off on time. The Trent XWB boasts 99.9% dispatch reliability, which means if you’re booked on a flight powered by the Trent XWB, the chances of it being delayed because of the engines are extremely slim. This is incredibly important to airlines and their passengers because it increases the likelihood of flights taking off on time, every time.

Impressively versatile

As a passenger, it’s generally expected that if you’re taking a short-haul flight, you’ll be on a smaller aircraft, while if you’re taking longer journeys, you’ll board a larger, widebody plane with several sections. The A350 and Trent XWB challenge this logic as the aircraft is used to operate the longest commercial flight in the world, from Singapore to Newark in around 18 hours, as well as for short hops such as Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar, which takes a mere 90 minutes. In fact, the Trent XWB powers 700 different routes, spanning 127 cities. It’s used in this way because it’s so versatile – the fuel efficiency, low noise levels and take-off performance mean it can fly in and out of many different airports around the world.

Extremely popular

The Trent XWB is the fastest-selling widebody engine ever, with 1,800 in service or on order. The Airbus A350 is a firm passenger favourite, and the Trent XWB has powered millions of passengers on journeys around the world. To keep up with this demand, we deliver one Trent XWB every day of the week at full capacity, from our production sites in Derby, UK and Dahlewitz, Germany. To make the Trent XWB from start to finish we use 16 manufacturing plants, 11 engineering and testing facilities, 13 engineering partners as well as 75 partners and suppliers worldwide in 16 countries.

Find out more about the Trent XWB.

Power of Trent

Efficiency. Value. Innovation.

Discover more
Load more
More about:

A force for progress;
powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.







© Rolls-Royce plc . All rights reserved.

Follow Us
Stay in Touch

Sign up to get the latest news

Contact us

Vulnerability Reporting