Airbus plans to announce later this month that Rolls-Royce will redesign the engine on its new A350-1000, according to several reports.
The engine redesign is likely to force Airbus to push back the first delivery of its composite aircraft, which will compete with Boeing’s 777-300 Extended Range jet. The first delivery will slide from 2015 to 2016, writes Scott Hamilton, analyst with Leeham Co., on his blog.
Rolls’ Trent XWB engine initially was to power all three of the A350 models. But airlines have complained the engine wouldn’t have enough power on the larger A350-1000 to compete with Boeing’s 777-300 ER.
The engine redesign would give the A350-1000 another 5,000 pounds of thrust, allowing the jet to carry more weight and fly farther, according to this Reuters report.
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