Rolls-Royce has marked a major milestone in its global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) strategy with the official opening of Beijing Aero Engine Services Limited (BAESL), its new joint-venture facility with Air China. Situated in Beijing, BAESL becomes the first dedicated Trent engine overhaul shop in mainland China and a key addition to the company’s worldwide MRO footprint.

The new facility is designed to help meet growing long-term demand for civil large-engine support, complementing Rolls-Royce’s existing network and providing more localised services for customers in China and the broader region. At the opening ceremony, the Civil Aviation Administration of China awarded BAESL its maintenance organisation certificate, confirming readiness to deliver professional, reliable and high-quality overhaul services.

Guests representing Rolls-Royce, Air China, the Beijing Municipal Government, the British Embassy, industry partners and customers also witnessed the first customer engine entering the shop—an important moment signalling the start of full operational capability.

Paul Keenan, Director – Commercial Aviation Aftermarket Operations at Rolls-Royce, said the opening of BAESL reflects both long-term market confidence and the company’s broader ambition to increase its global MRO capacity significantly by 2030. “China is one of the largest and fastest growing widebody markets in the world and is also key to Rolls-Royce. We power more than 500 of China’s in-service commercial aircraft; nearly 20% of our global Trent engines were delivered to China.”

He noted that increasing flying hours, new orders and fleet upgrades continue to drive robust demand for shop visits, both within China and globally. “Therefore, we’re making bold investments in our global Trent aftermarket network, including BAESL, to remain resilient and keep our customers flying.”

Air China, China’s sole national flag carrier, remains a strategic long-term partner for Rolls-Royce. The joint establishment of BAESL deepens this cooperation while strengthening Air China’s presence within the aircraft maintenance value chain and enhancing its fleet support capabilities.

BAESL is now one of four authorised joint-venture overhaul facilities in the Rolls-Royce global services network. It joins an ecosystem that includes two Rolls-Royce-owned maintenance centres, seven authorised maintenance centres, and customer-owned shops.

From 2026, the Beijing facility will begin introducing overhaul capability for the Trent 700, Trent XWB-84 and Trent 1000 engine families. Capacity is planned to scale up steadily, reaching 250 engine overhauls annually by 2034.