To switch to metal construction would take too much time. But following the success of Douglas, more and more airframe manufacturers were changing over to metal construction.
When Fokker offered the F-56 to KLM in 1936, the design had no chance of being accepted by the airline. In America, plans were already in existence for the Douglas DC-4E with a pressurized cabin and KLM asked Fokker to equip the F.56 with such a cabin also.
For a person such as Plesman who always wanted the latest and the best, this was an entirely realistic request. Fokker's only weapon in this headon contest with the DC-4E was the luxury that the F.56 had to offer.
In correspondence, Fokker did not fail to draw KLM's attention to the enormous space it provided for passengers. The four cabins on the upper deck were each to be equipped with eight seats or four beds. On the lower deck were two cabins with seating for 24 or beds for 12.
In addition there was a roomy kitchen plus two dressing rooms with two wash stands each.
On top of this, Fokker claimed that passengers in the F.56 would be considerably less troubled by noise than in the DC-4E. Plesman was not impressed however and the F.56 soon passed into oblivion.