At the end of the day nobody knows what the future holds. I specifically remember the CFO, in reference to future demand, stating that in a recent Townhall.
The 2023 timeline for the A380 is a very rough guesstimate. Nobody expects all twelve A380’s coming back on line on July 1st, 2023. What makes that date so special?
AJ had to come up with a plan. He knew that the demand for the A380 would not be there for a while. So he picked a date that they could base a recovery plan on. They picked that date so they could factor in the costs associated with that fleet not flying for a defined period. If the factors change, which they will, so too does the recovery plan.
They honestly don’t know what’s happening even next week! How can they plan anything.
What we do know is that they have decided to store the aircraft. We also know that if they bring them back after January they won’t have the crew to fly them!