Originally Posted by
Smythe
An article from 2013 stated that the breakeven for the 748 was 200 aircraft. Development cost was around $4.1billion
Dont know of the accuracy of the article as it was about Lufthansa being the launch customer.
Well, in 2006
Airbus announced the A380 break even point was
420 aircraft. And that was under extremely rosy assumptions like selling 750 units.
. In reality the number is likely even higher, and by 2021 (when the program will be shut down) Airbus will not deliver even half the amount required.
Safe to say that both programs lost money, but the A380 was a financial disaster for Airbus of a different scale. They spent $25 billion on the program (
six times what Boeing spent on the 747-8) -- and lost most of it.