New Airbus A350-900s will be equipped with upgraded Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 engines

Airbus is upgrading its A350-900 aircraft with new Rolls-Royce engines.

As usual, it’s a case of ‘meet the new boss same as the old boss’, but better.

The new engines are more powerful than the old ones and more efficient.

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The A350 has always been powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent engine, specifically the XWB engine.

It’s a big engine, too.

Each engine has a fan with a diameter of 300 centimeters, or 188 inches, and it weighs over 7,200kg.

How powerful is this new engine?

The XWB exists in several variants, and the number is always a reference to the amount of thrust it can generate.

This one can produce up to 84,000lb-ft (370kN) of thrust.

That’s where the ’84’ part of the name comes from.

This is the second most powerful XWB engine available, right after the XWB-97, with 97,000lbf (pound force) of take-off thrust, which is reserved for the bigger A350-1000.

Breaking down the Airbus A350-900

The A350 is a vast plane, designed for long-range flights.

It is so large it has secret compartments most people are probably not even aware of.

It’s also a modern plane, with a cockpit that’s so advanced it looks like it came from a spaceship.

It typically carries up to 350 passengers (at full capacity) and has a range of 15,000km – or 9,300 miles, enough to travel from New York City to Shanghai, or Dubai to Sydney.

As of 2024, most major airlines operate A350s, including Qatar Airways, Delta, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, Turkish Airlines and Etihad.

It’s a long list, and it includes several low cost carriers as well, including what is probably the airline with the funniest name ever, French Bee.