FullWings, now those are interesting thoughts. In the AF66 discussion, msbbarratt was wondering why the engine fell apart in cruise and not on takeoff, the strain being greater there than on a simple flight level change in cruise. If that flight took off at reduced power, that might have prevented the engine from coming apart there and then, turning an engine failure on takeoff (and the fan disk dropping off over London) into an engine failure at altitude over uninhabited terrain. Reduced thrust is not all downsides, safety-wise!