Rolls-Royce has powered a double delivery that will transform the future of the British Airways fleet.

Trent 900 engines brought the airline’s first Airbus A380 in to land at Heathrow Airport following a delivery from the Airbus centre in Toulouse.

It then taxied to the British Airways engineering centre nearby to join the airline’s other brand new aircraft, two Boeing 787 Dreamliners featuring Rolls-Royce Trent 1,000 engines, delivered last week.

British Airways is the first airline in Europe to introduce both the Boeing 787 and A380 into its fleet.

Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, president, civil large engines, said: “We are proud to power British Airways into a new era of passenger service.

“Our technology is helping to deliver better fuel efficiency and environmental performance on a new generation of aircraft operated by a valued customer.”

The Trent 900 is the customer engine of choice for the A380, selected by 11 of the 16 airlines presently operating the plane.