Well there are those (and you have to admit it, 747Focal, you are one of the number) who hammer the A380 - and are perhaps justified in being a little sceptical. What's not justified is knocking it at every turn, really.
Especially when some Seattle products have been exempted from later legislation due to grandfather rights (or perhaps great-grandfather rights if we go back through the mid-life updates). That would mean that they aren't so perfect either and perhaps couldn't be certificated in today's environment.
I'm asking just what exemptions have been granted due to grandfather rights that would pose a challenge if the certification were to be done afresh today. The relevance? Well, Boeing has challenges to and would face more challenges with older designs today. Not so perfect....
Don't get me wrong - both Seattle and Toulouse churn out fantastic aircraft. Evac. on the A380 will be a challenge, I'm sure, but come on, let's not over-dramatise with guff about people being killed during the tests and therefore stopping anyone else from wanting to take part in further tests. This is the worst kind of journo. type scaremongering. Maybe you're biased, but it's in everyone's interest that there are 2 manufacturers out there (and preferably more), or Airbus wouldn't bother with the A380 and Boeing wouldn't bother with the 7E7 - everything would just stagnate.
And if we're talking about certification challenges, how about a TiGr composite fuse and wing in service by 2008?!