GE Aviation GEnx engines powered the Qantas 787-9 that made the historic non-stop flight from Perth to London on 24 March, covering more than 9,000 miles in 17hr 20min (www.geaviation.com).

In late 2016, when Qantas first announced its intention to fly Boeing Dreamliners on a non-stop route between Australia and London’s Heathrow Airport, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft that makes travelling to Australia a much more attractive proposition to millions of people.”

Technology has made the Perth-London flight — the world’s third-longest commercial flight in terms of time — not only possible but also viable.

The lighter body of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner — 50% of which consists of advanced composite materials — its GEnx engines and advanced onboard systems result in 20% lower fuel consumption than other aircraft of a similar size.

Max York, CEO of GE Australia, said: “This flight confirms the capabilities of advanced propulsion technologies like composites and fuel-efficient combustion systems and turbines to revolutionise an industry.”

Technologies like carbon-fibre composites, developed and tested over years at GE laboratories, have allowed GE Aviation’s jet-engine design team to reduce an engine’s weight by more than 180kg.

“The efficiencies achieved through the GEnx engine can save Qantas and other airlines up to $1.6 million per aircraft in fuel costs each year,” says Mr York.

The Qantas decision in 2007 to select the GEnx engine for its Dreamliner fleet contributed to GE being the engine supplier of choice for Dreamliner customers over the past decade.

To date, almost 1,900 GEnx engines have been sold — to about 50 customers.