Could some knowledgable aircraft people answer these questions for me? 1. Can/are jet engines ever swapped out after a plane as been put into service? Or will these only ever be sold attached to new aircraft orders. 2. Any idea on what the engine costs? And what percentage of the overall airline cost is engine? I didn't see any references to costs of this engine vs existing models.
The engines will be somewhere north of $10m each, but since replacement of parts at required intervals will also cost several million dollars the airlines will look at total cost of ownership to take into account differences in frequency and cost of replacement parts, probably with a health risk premium for the new technology. Comparing that with existing models is more complex, and of course fuel economy savings depend very much on the routes you intend to operate. The engines alone will be worth more than a typical 10-15 year old narrowbodied aircraft (with its engines, midway through maintenance cycle)