Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines will tomorrow power the first delivery flight of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, to Air New Zealand, ahead of the aircraft’s entry into service.

The delivery flight marks a new era in the relationship between Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce. The airline was the first to order Trent 1000 engines, for 10 Boeing 787-9s, in 2004.

Christopher Luxon, Air New Zealand, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We look forward to operating the first commercial flight of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in October, powered by these highly efficient Rolls-Royce engines. The Trent 1000-powered 787-9 will help us transform our wide body fleet and deliver a consistently high standard of customer service across our long haul network.  As the airline nears its 75^th anniversary, it’s great to reflect on the fact Rolls-Royce has powered our aircraft with six different engine types, including the Trent 1000, throughout that time.”

Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, Chief Customer Officer – Civil Large Engines, said: “We congratulate Air New Zealand and Boeing on this important milestone and are committed to   supporting the aircraft’s entry into service with Trent 1000 engines that are already delivering excellent economics and the best reliability performance for Boeing 787 operators.”

The flight marks another first for the Trent 1000. It powered the very first Boeing 787 test flight in December 2009, the first 787-8 to enter service in October 2011, and the first test flight of the 787-9 in September last year.

Trent 1000s have now completed more than 300,000 in-service flying hours with an engine dispatch reliability of better than 99.9%.

Rolls-Royce continues to improve engine efficiency – the Trent 1000-TEN (Thrust, Efficiency and New technology) recently ran for the first time. Available for service from 2016, the Trent 1000-TEN, which incorporates new technologies from the Trent XWB engine, will be able to power all variants of the 787.