The British engine manufacturer itself may be the least surprised of anyone that Air France/KLM have chosen GE over Rolls Royce to supply the engines for its order for 25 owned and 12 leased Boeing 787s.
Whenever they have had a choice on a particular aircraft neither Air France nor KLM has ever selected Rolls or any other non American engine manufacturer. They have had to sign up with the British company to power their 25 A350s on order because that's the only engine on offer for this aircraft. Apart from that and leaving aside the unique case of the UK based but joint venture Olympus on the Concorde, Air France last bought from Rolls in the 1950s. Then they signed for Darts on their ten 1950s Viscount 700 turboprops and Avons for their early model Caravelle twinjets. Again neither aircraft offered an alternative. From then until the no-choice A350, Rolls might as well not have bothered to bid. KLM's last non American engine purchases were also back in the 1950s when they had Darts on a couple of F27s and ten Viscount 800s. Once more they had no choice if they wanted those aircraft, both the best in their class at the time.
Now that they have lost the Air France/KLM 787 battle, Rolls Royce may reflect that, other than to keep doors slightly ajar for the future, they may as well have saved the time,trouble and expense and stayed at home. That would have left the way open for GE to extract whatever price and terms they liked for this contract. In fairness though, as sole supplier on the A350 they may have pushed Air France/KLM a little too hard on that deal and this is their reward . But then maybe they believed the 787 was a lost cause for them anyway.
Whenever they have had a choice on a particular aircraft neither Air France nor KLM has ever selected Rolls or any other non American engine manufacturer. They have had to sign up with the British company to power their 25 A350s on order because that's the only engine on offer for this aircraft. Apart from that and leaving aside the unique case of the UK based but joint venture Olympus on the Concorde, Air France last bought from Rolls in the 1950s. Then they signed for Darts on their ten 1950s Viscount 700 turboprops and Avons for their early model Caravelle twinjets. Again neither aircraft offered an alternative. From then until the no-choice A350, Rolls might as well not have bothered to bid. KLM's last non American engine purchases were also back in the 1950s when they had Darts on a couple of F27s and ten Viscount 800s. Once more they had no choice if they wanted those aircraft, both the best in their class at the time.
Now that they have lost the Air France/KLM 787 battle, Rolls Royce may reflect that, other than to keep doors slightly ajar for the future, they may as well have saved the time,trouble and expense and stayed at home. That would have left the way open for GE to extract whatever price and terms they liked for this contract. In fairness though, as sole supplier on the A350 they may have pushed Air France/KLM a little too hard on that deal and this is their reward . But then maybe they believed the 787 was a lost cause for them anyway.
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