Trent keeps flowing into the Middle East

Eight out of the nine A330 operators in the Middle East and North Africa have taken the Rolls-Royce option on an aircraft that, unusually among modern passenger jets, offers customers a choice of all the “big three” engine manufacturers – Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. 

Claiming a 70% market share over the last three years, the Trent 700 has used its 72,000lb thrust – the highest rating on the A330 – to demonstrate impressive capability, particularly on higher weight versions of the twinjet, in the harshest ‘hot and high’ environments.

More than a third of the fleet’s 11 million hours of operational experience has been in the Middle East , where temperatures regularly topping 50C provide one of the world’s stiffest tests of equipment. 

Meanwhile, to meet the specific challenges of operating at high elevation destinations such as Lhasa, Tibet – 3,600 metres above sea level – some Chinese airlines are now flying the newly designated Trent 772C, which delivers an additional three per cent take-off thrust and eight per cent more climb thrust by reprogramming the electronic engine control (EEC).

The Trent 772B is certified to produce its full-rated thrust up to ISA+22C, equivalent at sea level to an ambient temperature of 37C or 99F, some 7C higher than the general standard for civil turbofans and the competing A330 engines.

As an illustration of how that translates into customer benefits, Rolls-Royce maintains a Trent-powered A330-300, flying a 3,000 nautical mile route at 8,000ft elevation on an ISA+20C day, can carry 244 passengers – 65 more than the same aircraft fitted with the lowest rated competing engine.

Higher available thrust is seen by Rolls not only as a differentiator in aircraft capability, but as a direct link to the engine’s impressive time-on-wing record.  The company points to independent industry data showing an average of 18,000 hours before first shop visit, with second, third and fourth shop visits consistently spaced at intervals of 15,500 hours. 

Richard Keen, head of marketing for Airbus programmes at Rolls-Royce, says the 700 has been a calling card for the rest of the Trent series. “It’s such a great cornerstone for us, opening up markets and, in many cases, establishing the brand in airlines which go on to become multiple Trent operators.”

It may have been the first of the Trent family to enter service back in 1995, but its performance on the A330 continues to prove a winning formula, resulting in Trent 700 production rates rising consistently year-on-year since 2004. In fact, its heritage as the initial member of the now six-strong Trent series made it a prime candidate for the type of improvement programmes that have raised performance levels.

Where operators can expect clear benefits, Rolls-Royce has consistently taken opportunities to feed latest technologies back into earlier generation engines. Indeed, some years ago the Trent 700 itself took on the donor’s role when its core was successfully offered to retrofit the hot section of the RB211-524G/H. 

“This philosophy of continuous improvement has certainly worked well for the 700,” says Keen. “In 1999 we inserted the 04 module from the Trent 800 (the high-pressure compressor, combustor and HP turbine) and came up with the Trent 772B, giving customers extra capability, greater reliability and improved performance. Although our maximum operational thrust of 72,000lb is the highest available on the A330, in effect the changes gave us a 75K-capable core.”

Rolls-Royce subsequently introduced a second major technology enhancement in the form of the enhanced performance (EP) package, consisting primarily of improved blading in the intermediate and high-pressure compressors. This is said to deliver an engine fuel-burn improvement of up to 1.3%, equivalent to a typical annual saving of $100,000 per engine in fuel costs.

The upgrades are now incorporated in new production engines, the first batch of the new standard Trent 700s having been delivered to Singapore Airlines in March.

Meanwhile, the launch customer for the EP kit is to be Cathay Pacific, which is retrofitting 24 engines over the next two years, reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 720 tonnes per year.

Rolls-Royce says it is talking with other interested customers about potentially fitting kits during scheduled shop visits, and reveals that some Middle East operators are among those in discussions.

Whatever the merits of the respective products from the major engine makers, there is no doubt that the Trent 700 has become the dominant force on the A330 in recent years. And that trend looks set to continue, with 68% of the total A330 backlog currently set to be Rolls-Royce-powered.