Airbus and Rolls-Royce sign agreement for enhanced A350-1000

Today, the CEOs of Airbus and Rolls-Royce, Tom Enders and John Rishton (pictured below), signed the milestone agreement for the joint development of the enhanced Airbus A350-1000 airliner powered by a higher thrust Rolls-Royce Trent XWB turbofan.

The enhanced version of the Trent XWB engine will be fully optimised for the largest member of the A350 XWB Family and will deliver up to 97,000lbs of thrust on takeoff, making it the most powerful engine ever developed for an Airbus aircraft. The extra thrust together with an increased aircraft takeoff weight capability of 308 tonnes will enable airlines to fly the new A350-1000 approximately 400nm further with a full load of 350 passengers, or carry around 4.5 extra tonnes of payload at a given range. Moreover, the A350-1000 will save airlines around 25% of fuel consumed and CO2 emissions compared with its competitor. This will assure the A350-1000’s position as by far the most efficient aircraft in its category.

Pr