It has now been over a decade since the Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ family entered service with
ANA in October 2011. Boeing has produced more than a thousand of these widebodies across three
variants. While engine choice varies from type to type, customers of the 787 can choose between
Rolls-Royce or General Electric engines. Let’s explore this topic a little further today...
The first 787 engine type we’ll look at today is the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. This high-bypass
turbofan design first ran in February 2006, more than five-and-a-half years before entering
revenue-earning service on the Dreamliner. This powerplant was developed from the Trent 900,
which is one of the options when it comes to powering the Airbus A380.
Rolls-Royce has produced several different variants of the Trent 1000.
The least powerful is the Trent 1000-E, which produces 62,264 lbf of thrust on takeoff,
and 58,866 lbf on a continuous basis. At the other end of the spectrum, a takeoff powered by the
Trent 1000-R produces 81,028 lbf of thrust. These engines have a continuous output of 72,691 lbf.
Despite powering the first-ever commercial 787 flight, Rolls-Royce has had some difficulties
in gaining a solid market share. According to FlightGlobal, just a third of Dreamliner
orders have featured the Trent 1000. In recent years, the engine has suffered supply chain and
durability issues. However, the COVID-19 pandemic helped ease these as planes were flying less.
During this time, Rolls-Royce was able to solve the problems associated with the engine type.
Based in the US, General Electric presently has a commanding share
in the 787 engine market. FlightGlobal reported last year that more than 60% of Dreamliner
orders featured the company’s GEnx high-bypass turbofans. Much like the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000,
this design also first ran in 2006. It is also used on another Boeing widebody- the 747-8.
Developed from the Boeing 777’s GE90n engine series, the GEnx has gone on to form the basis
for the 777X family’s GE9X turbofans. The least powerful variant of the GEnx is the GEnx-1B54/P2,
which produces 57,400 lbf of thrust on takeoff, and 56,300 lbf continuously.
Contrastingly, the GEnx-1B78/P2 has the highest takeoff thrust at 80,400 lbf. However, we can
find the highest continuous output in the form of the GEnx-1B75/P2 with its thrust of 68,800 lbf.
With a pair of capable engine options at their disposal, airlines have to think
carefully about which set they would like for their Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Speaking recently to Simple Flying, Rolls-Royce’s Chief Customer Officer, Ewen McDonald, explained:
“The airline will do a full evaluation of how good the engines are:
a technical evaluation and an economic evaluation. (…) They will ask [both
companies] for a proposal, and go through a tender process.
In the end, they decide which engine they will take, and inform [the aircraft manufacturer].”
Clearly, a number of factors must be evaluated, including efficiency,
power, reliability and ease of maintenance. Interestingly, however, not all planes allow
customers to have such a choice. For example, the Airbus A350 is powered exclusively
by Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB turbofans, while the upcoming 777X uses the GE9X.
Were you aware of the choice of engines faced by Boeing 787 operators?
Do you have a favorite manufacturer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.