Rolls-Royce joined on the 7th of October celebrations to mark Finnair becoming the first European airline to operate the Airbus A350 XWB, powered by the world’s most efficient large civil aero engine, the Trent XWB.
A formal aircraft handover ceremony took place today at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. The aircraft, the airline’s first ever to be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines, will fly to Helsinki laterom the 7th of Octorber. nThe Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the only engine that powers the A350 XWB and more than 1,500 engines have already been sold to 40 customers.
The A350 XWB delivers a 25 per cent fuel burn improvement compared to previous generation aircraft. The Trent XWB is also one of the quietest engines that Rolls-Royce has ever produced for the wide-body market. The engine, which powered the first A350 XWB to go into service at the start of this year, is the result of years of research and development and advanced engineering of more than 20,000 parts.
Pekka Vauramo, Chief Executive Officer, Finnair, said: “As one of the first operators of the A350 XWB, we look forward to providing our passengers with outstanding service using state-of-the-art engines that combine the best in both efficiency and reliability.”
Fabrice Bregier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airbus, said: “At Airbus, we’re proud and delighted to see Finnair, one of the world’s oldest and most respected airlines, become the first European airline to fly the A350. The A350’s unrivalled fuel efficiency and passenger comfort make it the perfect aircraft to spearhead Finnair’s Asian expansion.”
Eric Schulz, President – Civil Large Engines, Rolls-Royce, said: “We are very proud to be with Finnair and Airbus today to mark another chapter in the A350 XWB story. The Trent XWB exemplifies how we take the best in technology to deliver new standards of excellence. Today marks the start of a new era in our relationship with Finnair and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
Finnair has ordered a total of 19 A350 XWBs.
Trent XWB – incredible engineering by numbers:
The front fan is nearly 10ft feet across – its diameter is larger than the fuselage of Concorde
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 68 high pressure turbine blades generates around 900 horsepower per blade – the equivalent to that of a Formula One racing car.
At full power, air leaves the nozzle at the back of the engine travelling at almost 1000mph.
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