Design and Development
When Airbus was planning its new twin-jet A330 in the late 1980s, Rolls-Royce proposed a version of the Trent 600 (known as the Trent 680) to power it. However, as the A330's design weight increased, it became clear that more thrust would be required, and Rolls proposed the Trent 720, the first member of the Trent 700 series.
In April 1989 Cathay Pacific became the first customer to specify an Airbus aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce engines when it ordered ten A330s powered by the Trent 700. The following month TWA followed suit with an order for twenty A330s. Air Canada chose the engine for its fleet of eight A330-300s.
The Trent 700 first ran in August 1990, and certification was achieved in January 1994. 90 minutes ETOPS approval was achieved in March 1995, and this was extended to 120 minutes in December 1995 and 180 minutes in May 1996.
In 2009 Rolls-Royce introduced an upgraded version of the engine dubbed the Trent 700EP (enhanced performance) which incorporated a package of improvements derived from later members of the Trent engine family (especially the Trent 1000). These included elliptical leading edges and optimised fan and high pressure turbine tip clearances. Together the improvements provided a 1.2% improvement to the Trent 700's specific fuel consumption. Some of the improvements were also made available as a retro-fit kit to existing airlines.
Rolls-Royce claims that the Trent 700 has the lowest life cycle fuel burn, and is the quietest and cleanest engine available on the A330. Cathay Pacific is the largest operator, with 31 Trent 700-powered A330s. Rolls received orders for 140 of the type during the Paris Air Show in June 2007. The Trent 700 was the third engine to market on the A330, after GE and PW and. According to the Rolls-Royce website as of November 2012 the engine had a 57% market share while since the introduction of the Trent 700EP variant in 2009 its market share has been over 70%.
Read more about this topic: Rolls-Royce Trent 700
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