It is an interesting study.
The A380 would seem to be a logical fit for slot constrained airports where airport capacity is close to peak. Places like EGLL etc.
That the manufacturer and industry scoped, developed and ultimately built it over a decade and committed over $10 billion to the program, it shows that even the industry and the manufacturers make mistakes.
Point to point smaller seat count aircraft are the preferred vehicle.
Posited elsewhere, perhaps this is a realisation that the relative reliance on reduced supply of hydrocarbon based fuel will mean that fuel consumes ever increasing percentages of hourly operating cost.