Rolls-Royce launches Durability Enhancement Package that will double Trent 1000 Time-on-Wing

On June 12, Rolls-Royce launched the first of two Durability Enhancement Packages, that will more than double the duration Trent 1000 engines remain in service before needing scheduled maintenance. This marks an important milestone on Rolls-Royce’s transformation programme into a high performing, competitive, resilient and growing business.

Increasing ‘Time on Wing’ for the Trent 1000 will bring significantly improved asset utilisation, reduced maintenance burden and provide far greater fleet planning certainty for customers. The durability enhancement complements the excellent reliability that the Trent 1000 already has.

The enhancement package has been installed in new engines since January 2025, ready for delivery to customers at the earliest opportunity post-certification. From today, they will now be distributed to maintenance facilities globally, to be retrofitted to engines that are already in service. Within two years all of the Trent 1000 fleet will have been upgraded.

The upgraded components have already been enhancing durability since 2022 on the Trent 7000 engine. It is performing better than expected, and in some cases more than tripling Time on Wing. This proven in-service performance gives Rolls-Royce full confidence in the same benefit reading across to Trent 1000 customers.

The new technologies – part of the Trent fleet £1bn durability enhancement programme – will contribute to Rolls-Royce meeting its mid-term targets to increase average Time on Wing across all modern Trent engines, which incorporates the Trent 1000, Trent 7000, Trent XWB-84 and Trent XWB-97. The company announced earlier this year that this target would double from its initial ambition of a 40% average increase to 80% by 2027.

Chief Executive Officer, Tufan Erginbilgic, said: “The Trent 1000 is an important engine for us and today marks a new chapter in its story. When upgraded, we’re confident that our customers and their passengers will benefit from increased durability, thanks to the proven enhancements that have already surpassed our expectations on the Trent 7000.

“As part of our ongoing transformation, the investment we have made in new technologies will see the Trent 1000 deliver for Boeing, our customers and our investors. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

The first phase of durability enhancement includes a 40% increase in cooling to the new high pressure turbine blade. There are also updates to the combustion system, fuel spray nozzles and engine electronic controller software.

Rob Watson, President of Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, said: “Today is an important day for Rolls-Royce, our customers and our partnership with Boeing. We know that the same enhancements have already tripled Time on Wing in some cases for the Trent 7000, so we are confident it will deliver for Trent 1000 customers. To do so at pace, we began installing the enhancements into new engines prior to today’s certification to reduce the lead time as much as possible. They will now enter the fleet immediately.”

Phase two of the Durability Enhancement Package is currently being tested at Rolls-Royce’s facility in Derby, UK and will bring a further 30% improvement in Time on Wing across the Trent 1000 and Trent 7000 fleets. It features advanced coating on combustor tiles in non-benign environments; cooling and coating changes to high pressure nozzle guide vanes; weight reduction and coating improvements to high pressure turbine blades; and a redesigned combustor-to-turbine interface taken from the latest variant Trent XWB-84 EP. This further enhancement will start entering the Trent 1000 fleet from early 2026.

Rolls-Royce’s transformation programme is enabling it to deliver on its strategic initiatives. Today’s announcement on the Trent 1000 is an example of that in action. This milestone builds on the Trent 1000’s already strong reliability performance and creates a truly competitive and compelling product for customers.