Originally Posted by
quarryking
It’s interesting, as you have the A380 on one side in a market where most long haul carriers are moving/ have moved to more efficient twin engine long haulers like the B777, 787 & A330. And on the other hand you have the 747 that seats slightly less than the 380, but as data shows burns more fuel & is being slowly phased out...
In terms of sheer numbers i guess the A380 offers better economies of scale.
From an aesthetic standpoint I think the 747 makes the A380 look like an ugly, swollen carbuncle. No contest. The A380 is not a pretty airplane.
From the economic point of view neither aircraft makes much mainstream sense anymore because of the shift to longer-range twin-engine planes that erase the rationale for VLAs (very large aircraft) except between and among 12 to 20 major hub airports worldwide. The A380 economics are better in that narrow use case -- the 747-8 is a last-stage attempt to squeeze one more profit out of a basic planform conceived nearly 50 years ago. Beautiful, but as finished in its way as the Lockheed Constellation was circa 1965.