One at a time, please...
Omark,
Logically these operators will end up operating more than half a dozen or so aircraft each - as populations grow, so will demand and the lower ticket price that could be offered due to A380 operating costs will surely drive demand even further. For example, how does the population of NYC compare today to that of 1969 when the 747 appeared?
Wino,
747s are too big for SOME routes - not all, though, by a long chalk. I would suspect (though I'm sure you will correct me) that VS flies/flew A340s to secondary US cities or used them to add a second frequency to major cities a la New York or LAX OR they were used to develop routes to new destinations and later replaced with 747s. Surely to God you can't think that the US has a high population density, can you? Compare the person per square mile ratio to that of Japan, Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong et al...
Lu,
You have a point but then nobody can predict what will happen in that respect and I'm sure nobody here wishes for that to happen just for one-upmanship, do they?