Rolls-Royce has resolved the durability problems that plagued its Trent aircraft engines and is now pursuing government backing to re-enter the huge narrowbody jet engine market. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgiç, who called the company a "burning platform" on arriving in 2023, invested £1bn in improving Trent reliability and expanding maintenance capacity after cracking turbine blades caused disputes with airline customers and hit the share price.

The turnaround has been striking: underlying profits for 2025 rose 40% to £3.5bn, and the share price has climbed above £13, ten times its level three years ago. The Trent engines, used on widebody aircraft such as the Airbus A330, A350 and A380 and Boeing's 787 and 777, operate under extreme conditions, with blades enduring temperatures near 1,700C. Rolls-Royce has also benefited from rising demand for power generators for AI data centres and increased defence spending following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is due to feature prominently at this week's Farnborough airshow.