Here we go again. After the Gulf War, Saudi Arabian Airlines - a major Rolls-Royce customer - was evaluating engines to power the Boeing 777s it had ordered, the Trent 800 being the front runner. In step the men in black from Washington DC, political pressure is applied and the order goes to General Electric.
Another major conflict and political pressure is applied again by the USA, this time on Emirates, another major R-R customer (Flight International, 5-11 February). If Emirates stay with R-R, then the (GE/Pratt & Whitney) Alliance GP7200 engine risks being relegated to the position of also-ran. Can the USA accept such a position? Seemingly not.
As for Emirates' worry of "having all its eggs in one basket", surely the most important issue is which engine will deliver the best business case over the life of the aircraft.
There is a growing number of companies worldwide that are driving to lower their supplier base and the "one stop shop" is becoming a reality, so why should a single engine supplier to an airline be any different?
For Emirates to have a single source of supply for engines would not make them unique. Alitalia, Asiana, KLM, Korean Airlines Lufthansa and United, to name a few, have one single supplier for all their widebody needs, Emirates being an operator of widebody aircraft only. Air France pursues such a policy so rigidly that the only Airbus variant that it does not or will not operate in the future is the R-R powered A340.
The USA complains of unfair subsidies by the Europeans, but actively interferes in support of US companies, and will presumably only select engines from GE or P&W if it proceeds with the plan to purchase 100 Boeing 767 tankers.
Michael Walton Hinckley, UK
Source: Flight International
