It would surprise (and disappoint) me greatly if Airbus tried to mess A330/340 customers about, just because it can't get the 380 right. Isn't Airbus under a contractual r'ship to Aer Lingus to provide the new aircraft; if it welches on this, well they don't deserve the business.
I'm glad that Boeing isn't letting EI's business go without a fight; it's clearly very much in EI's interest, even if - at the end of the day - they do end up going Airbus.
The thing that worries me about FR is that although EI has said it feels its best option is to focus on short haul routes of 2h+, FR's three most recent route plans have been on such routes. I really hope EI can fend FR off, but it will come down to cost. What is to stop FR from matching EI route for route, so if (as expected) EI announces ATH in the near future, FR does exactly the same - and with other routes too? One hopes that they have better things to do with their aircraft and there are many, far weaker European flag carriers to cause heartache for, but over the next few weeks, I can see FR going out to make life extremely unpleasant for EI.