Airbus is increasing the payload range performance of its A350-1000 through an increased thrust Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine and changes to the aircraft’s wing and undercarriage that will now see the aircraft enter service in mid 2017, 18 months later than originally planned.
The new “optimised” Trent XWB engine for the A350-1000 will generate 97,000lb of thrust, up 4000lb, which, together with the wing design changes and an increased, 308 tonne max takeoff weight, will allow the A350-1000 to fly a further 450nm with a full 350 passenger load, says Airbus, or carry a further 4.5 tonnes of payload for a given range.
Rolls-Royce says the extra thrust will be realised by “new high temperature turbine technology, increasing the size of the engine core and advanced fan aerodynamics”.
Airbus says it currently holds orders for 75 A350-1000s from four customers.
Meanwhile, Airbus has also delayed the service entry of the smallest member of the A350 XWB family, the -800, by two years t0 mid 2016. But the mid sized A350-900, the most popular to date, remains on track to enter service in late 2013.
