5 minute read - 4th February 2025
Rolls-Royce celebrates 30 years of Trent engine success
Rolls-Royce is celebrating 30 years since its Trent engine family entered service. Having proven itself as the most successful engine family in the world, it has accumulated over 200 million engine flying hours and transported 3.5 billion people on holidays, business trips, and humanitarian missions.
The Trent 700 was the first Trent engine to enter service on the Airbus A330 in 1995 and became the cornerstone of Rolls-Royce’s subsequent market success. The Trent engine family consists of the Trent 700, Trent 800, Trent 500, Trent 900, Trent 1000, XWB, and 7000.
In 2010, 1,500 Trent engines were in service. Today, there are nearly 6,000, with a Rolls-Royce-powered aircraft taking off or landing every 3 seconds.
Picture: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce says a philosophy of continuous improvement is inherent in the Trent engine design. The robust and proven 3-shaft architecture is scalable, enabling each new Trent to deliver the thrust requirement for its specific aircraft application while incorporating the latest in materials, component, and subsystem design and technology. This philosophy also enables the latest matured technology to be inserted back into earlier in-service Trent engines. These in-service upgrades provide improvements in capability, efficiency, reliability, and durability and ensure the engines get better with age.
As a result, since the Trent family entered service, fuel consumption has been reduced by 15%, making the Trent XWB the most efficient large aero engine in service. Reliability has been improved eight-fold, and with 100% SAF compatibility across the Trent engine family, Rolls-Royce says it’s fast-tracking the transition to net zero flight.
Picture: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce’s history of aviation firsts perfectly illustrates the first passenger flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel across the Atlantic on a Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787 in 2023.
Other notable firsts, such as the super-efficient wide chord hollow titanium fan blades and the durable 3-shaft core architecture, are features unique to the Trent engine family. Each innovation delivers proven versatility and industry-beating utilisation, providing our customers with maximum revenue generation potential. The Trent XWB will soon deliver another industry first when it powers the longest non-stop passenger flight from London to Sydney.
Many Rolls-Royce engineers enjoy decades-long careers at the British manufacturing aerospace giant, and three generations of employees can be found throughout the organisation. The next generation is already at work through its graduate and apprenticeship programmes, ensuring customers and partners can rely on an enduring talent pipeline.
Picture: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce is investing over £1bn in engine upgrades, including a durability enhancement package on the Trent 1000 and Trent 7000, which has proven to double the engine time on the wing.
Rolls-Royce says it is remaining at the forefront of industry technology with continued investment in UltraFan, the world’s largest demonstrator aero engine. UltraFan contains a suite of new technologies that deliver greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. From day one of service, the UltraFan demonstrator will be ready to run on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
