Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is celebrating the 25th anniversary of an aero engine family which helped transform the company into a global force.
Back in 1995, the firm, which has its civil aerospace business based at Sinfin, in Derby, saw its first Trent engine enter into service.
Today, there are seven members of the Trent engine family, operated by 132 customers worldwide.
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The first Trent engine powered the first Airbus A330 on a delivery flight on February 28, to Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.
Since then, Rolls-Royce’s Trent engines have completed 145 million flying hours - the equivalent of 390 times to the sun and back.
They have helped carry around 3.5 billion people on holidays, business and humanitarian missions.
And they have helped transform Rolls-Royce as a business - from a single digit share of the widebody market to one that powers almost one in two widebody aircraft today.
The engines have also set new standards in terms of durability and reliability.
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Last year, an Aeroflot A330, powered by the Trent 700, reached 50,000 engine flying hours without requiring an overhaul, which was a world record for time on wing.
The Trent engine family is made up of the Trent 500, Trent 700, Trent 800, Trent 900, Trent 1000, Trent XWB and Trent 7000.
Each engine has been either the market leader on its designated aircraft, or first into service on that aircraft, and sometimes both.
And the popularity of the engines is continuing to grow. A decade ago, 1,500 Trents were in service. Today, that figure stands at just over 4,000 and in ten years’ time it will be around 7,500.
The Trent engine family is designed and developed at the firm’s Derby site. They are also made at Derby as well as in Singapore and Germany.
Chris Cholerton, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce, said: “I want to thank all of our customers and all of our partners who have taken the power of Trent engines and used it to support a global aviation network.
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“That network has offered passengers the opportunity to have incredible, life-enhancing journeys.
“We’ve had challenges along the way, and still do, and we are absolutely committed to dealing with any issues to ensure that the Trent family remains an outstanding product.”
Currently, Rolls-Royce is working on the next generation of Trent engines, which include the UltraFan - a revolutionary new engine, which Rolls-Royce believes will be a major game-changer for the industry.
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The firm has recently started making parts for its UltraFan demonstrator and is nearing completion on a new £90 million testbed in Derby, which will be used to put it through its paces.
Mr Cholerton said: “The Trent has been built on our relentless desire to be pioneers – to make our engines increasingly efficient, and by doing so find new ways to make flight ever more sustainable.
“And that spirit continues in our next-generation programmes, such as the UltraFan engine demonstrator and our electrification projects.”