Engineering firm Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday that it has supplied of a new set of engines to Airbus, marking a new improvement for its long-haul aircraft.
The engines will be used to power Qantas’s soon-to-receive new and improved fleet of Airbus A350-1000 models, which are now capable of flying long-duration flights from Australia to New York and London, with no stops in between.
A leap forward in global connectivity. Our Rolls‑Royce Trent XWB‑97 engines are now with @Airbus for @Qantas' A350‑1000ULR, entering service in 2026.
Soon, a new era of ultra‑long‑range travel begins: the world’s longest flights, Sydney to London & New York, non‑stop.
More… pic.twitter.com/NAjQAhvs8y— Rolls-Royce (@RollsRoyce) January 20, 2026
The update of the new Trent XWB-97 comes after Rolls-Royce inked a MoU with Emirates to provide maintenance for the national air carrier’s Trent 900 engines—the standard airplane engine powering the majority of flights around the world.
Apart from its luxury car division—which is no longer under its control—the Rolls-Royce brand is also known for supplying backup power generators, airplane engines, and other valuable infrastructure to large-scale private entities and governments, such as its recent supply of power generators to Baleària and its supply of backup power generators to Kuwait international airport.
The new XWB-97 engine is considered a step upwards from the Trent 900, as is it is capable of powering much larger aircraft.
“The Trent XWB-97 has demonstrated dependable performance across global fleets and its industry leading fuel efficiency supports Qantas’ mission to reshape long-distance travel,” read the statement on Rolls-Royce’s official website.
Qantas and Rolls-Royce have a longstanding relationship, as indicated in the statement. Qantas has been using Rolls-Royce engines since 1979, when it first took delivery of the Boeing-747, a model that used the Rolls-Royce RB-211.
At the time of writing, shares of the company were trading at 1,271.50 GBX, up by 0.36%.