Originally Posted by
mattyj
There’s the beginnings of talk of taking the 789s back to Seattle for new engines and pylons too for ‘fleet commonality’..the RR problems are starting to look insurmountable and the dash 10s are starting to crack around the place too which did nothing for the 350s cause
During the development of the 787, there was a specific requirement to make the engines 'plug and play' - that the engines and pylons could be switched between GE and Rolls with no aircraft changes needed (aside from perhaps updating some software). This was completely new - previously Boeing aircraft were so tailored to specific engine type that changing engine types was not economically viable - too many aircraft changes were needed. However it was seen that being able to readily swap engine types might help the resale value so the desire to make it available for the 787. To the best of my knowledge it's never actually been done through.
If this is true, it will be a massive blow to Rolls Royce - and by connection to Airbus since they're Rolls only for both the A350 and A330 NEO.