Airbus said to mull A350-1100 with Rolls-Royce Ultrafan.

With a roughly equal share of the busiest part of the jet market, Boeing and Airbus rely on their smallest planes –B737 and A320 families- for cash to finance riskier developments of larger jets.

Source: Rolls-Royce

Airline sources said Airbus is exploring more seriously than before a larger version of its A350-1000 widebody jet with a capacity of up to 450 seats to counter the latest Boeing 777, probably powered by the next generation of "UltraFan" engines from Rolls-Royce.

Source: Rolls-Royce

A geared  design with a variable pitch system, “UltraFan” is based on technology that could be ready for service from end-2025 and will offer at least 25% improvement in fuel burn and emissions against the same baseline.

Source: Airbus

UltraFan will utilise the new advanced core architecture, enhanced with further technologies and the broader application of innovative high-temperature materials to push the core overall pressure ratio to more than 70:1.

The UltraFan is Rolls-Royce's vision for the very long term.

Based on the article “Airbus set to announce new hike in A320 production” published in   Reuters.