The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 is a large turbofan for the original Boeing 777 family. It entered service in April 1996, building on experience with the Trent 700 for the Airbus A330. The programme carried Rolls-Royce's three-shaft Trent architecture into Boeing's new generation of twin-engine wide-body airliners.[1][2]
Airline introduction
Thai Airways was the launch customer for the Trent 800 on both the Boeing 777-200 and 777-300. This gave the engine an early presence in the growing long-haul networks of Southeast Asia. Rolls-Royce's relationship with Thai extended back to the Avon-powered Caravelle, but the Trent 800 represented a much larger twin-aisle application.[3]
Singapore Airlines placed a major Trent 800 order in 1996 to power its 777 fleet. Rolls-Royce identifies that transaction as its largest order at the time. The two Southeast Asian customers thus played different programme roles: Thai launched the engine's aircraft applications, while Singapore placed an especially significant early fleet order.[4]
Architecture and thrust growth
The Trent's three separate rotating systems allow different parts of the compressor and turbine machinery to operate at different speeds. The family also uses wide-chord hollow titanium fan blades. On the Trent 800, the original design supported subsequent thrust growth, which Rolls-Royce describes as an important attribute of the programme.[2][1]
Rolls-Royce's product summary places the engine broadly in the 75,000–95,000 lbf thrust class. Several ratings could be offered from a common engine standard, supporting aircraft with differing take-off requirements. The powerplant was associated with the 777 Classic generation rather than the later, exclusively GE-powered long-range growth aircraft.[1]
Improvement package
An enhanced-performance package became available in September 2013. Its purpose was to reduce fuel consumption on existing Trent 800 installations, extending the technical development of an engine already well established in service. The programme consequently includes both the early expansion in available thrust and later improvements to the operating economics of the installed fleet.[1]