Originally Posted by
cordelli
Why is there an assumption that just because they didn't buy a 380 they are in decline?
There are only a relatively few number of routes that economically support large a/c (LHR, NRT, GRU, HKG). In many cases, UA, AA, and DL serve these airports from two or more hubs. Most of these destinations can be served with 767/A330/777s. A 747-800 or A380 would mean needing to fill the a/c with junk fares. The industry has finally turned away from having excess, unprofitable capacity just to dominate a certain route.
DL "might" at some future point look at large a/c to replace 747-400s down the road assuming those routes can be filled with productive capacity.