Interesting rumour! I wasn't aware that he GE monopoly agreement would expire so soon. Also, I thought (and perhaps BA 777 flight deck could enlighten me) that the Trent, while a whole lot lighter than the GE90, has a higher fuel burn with a relative advantage crossover point of about 6,000nm i.e. when the lower fuel burn of the GE90 more than compensates for its higher installed weight relative to the Trent. If this is the case, it is unlikely that the Trent would give the -200LR better range than the GE90. Unless, I suppose, that pushing the thrust to 115k/lb also resulted in a huge improvement in sfc?
The -200LR certainly is a slow seller - just 5 firm orders to date from EVA and PIA. This is probably the reason why Boeing have just announced they are to commence offering of the -200LRF.
With respect to the -300ER/200LR in general, it was widely rumoured that many airlines were p***ed off that Boeing wouldn't offer the Trent and that, as a consequence, they haven't ordered it. These carriers were said to include CX, TG and SQ but, as SQ has now ordered the -300ER with GE90s, I imagine that this is an indication that no Trent-powered model is forthcoming.
