The fact that EK went for the RR engines on the A380 knowing they were **** beggars belief.
What were they expecting with fuel burn numbers?
Although the Engine Alliance is technically a joint venture between Pratt and GE, my friends at both Pratt and GE tell me that Pratt was very much a 'junior partner' - GE ran things. And of the 'big three', GE keeps a much closer eye on the bottom line - they only do things if they think it makes financial sense. GE sees the GP7000 as an orphan - it has little commonality with any other GE engines and is a point design for the A380 - plus making the A380 better would likely hurt other GE programs (e.g. 777X and 747-8). So when TC said he'd order more A380s, but only if they improved the fuel burn, GE looked at what it would take and what it would cost, figured it was good money after bad, and said 'no thanks'.