Four years after the surprise launch of the Airbus A350XWB airliner, engine maker Rolls-Royce is still faced with two pleasant surprises from what might have seemed an ill-timed program given the impending global recession. First, it remains the sole powerplant provider for the new widebody airliner. Second, two years into an air transport downturn of historic proportions, its main challenge is ensuring that its Trent XWB engine enters service three years from now with sufficient engineering security to meet the expectations of more than 30 prospective operators who hold firm orders for more than 1,000 of the new turbofans.
Rolls-Royce achieved the first ground test run of the new Trent engine just over a month ago, on June 17. In doing so it met the commitments made to Airbus and to A350XWB launch customers at a time when keeping aerospace programs on time appears to have gone out of fashion.
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