Rolls-Royce celebrates the official opening of BAESL, its MRO joint venture in Beijing, China

• A major milestone in expanding global MRO capacity

• Overhaul capability for Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 engines

• Ramp up to 250 overhauls per year by 2034

Rolls-Royce celebrated the official opening of Beijing Aero Engine Services Limited (BAESL), its new joint-venture maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility with Air China on December 10, 2025. The facility complements Rolls-Royce’s existing MRO footprint and addresses growing long-term demand for new civil large engines.

Located in Beijing, BAESL is the first dedicated Trent engine overhaul facility in the Chinese mainland and a significant addition to Rolls-Royce’s global MRO network. The opening of the new facility marks an important step Rolls-Royce is taking in expanding its worldwide widebody engine maintenance capacity and providing more localised support to its customers in China and beyond.

At the opening ceremony, the Civil Aviation Administration of China granted BAESL its maintenance organisation certificate (MOC), confirming the facility’s readiness to deliver professional, reliable and high-quality overhaul services on Trent engines. The reveal of the first customer engine entering the shop — witnessed by representatives from Rolls-Royce, along with representatives from the Beijing Municipal Government, the British Embassy, Air China, industry partners, suppliers and customers — marked a brand-new chapter of this state-of-the-art facility.

Paul Keenan, Director – Commercial Aviation Aftermarket Operations, Rolls-Royce, said: “The opening of BAESL not only supports our long-term growth in the Chinese market, but also contributes to our ambition to significantly increase our global MRO capacity by 2030.

“China is one of the largest and fastest growing widebody markets in the world and is also key to Rolls-Royce. We power more than 500 of China’s in-service commercial aircraft; nearly 20% of our global Trent engines were delivered to China. Increasing flying hours, new orders and existing fleet upgrades all lead to growing demand for shop visits, both in China and around the world. Therefore, we’re making bold investments in our global Trent aftermarket network, including BAESL, to remain resilient and keep our customers flying.”

Air China, as China’s sole national flag carrier, is a long-term strategic customer for Rolls-Royce. By establishing BAESL jointly, the two companies have deepened their cooperation. In the meantime, it further enhances Air China’s strategic layout in the aircraft maintenance industry chain, improving its overall fleet operational support capabilities.

As one of four authorised joint-venture overhaul facilities within the Rolls-Royce global services network, BAESL will be an integral part of its worldwide Trent MRO ecosystem, which also consists of two Rolls-Royce maintenance facilities, seven joint-venture or independent Authorised Maintenance Centres, and customer-owned shops.

Starting from 2026, BAESL will begin introducing overhaul capability for Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 engines, with capacity expected to ramp up to 250 overhauls per year by 2034.