Originally Posted by
nomorecatering
I'm going to go out on a limb and say both the 747 and A380 will continue on for a very long time. The 747 will get some further tweeks, the A380 will get a longer fuselage. Airport planners in Asia are already talking about designs for airports and terminals which will see 500+ million pax per year. The new twins are magnificent air frames, but they are not the 747 or A380. Their demise is greatly exaggerated to paraphrase the well know quote.
You may be right, but on the other hand......
1. The 747-8I (the passenger model) is essentially done. Only 747-8Fs are selling.
2. The business case for stretching the A380 is non existent. The base design needs to be profitable before major upgrades like new engines or stretch configurations can even be contemplated. And the base design is simply not making a profit for Airbus.