Does this make the 747-8 a 'one airline' airliner I wonder? Pointedly no reference to it in the above article and Press
The B747-8I (Pax) is a spoiler by Boeing to destroy Airbus's pricing power on the A380. All Boeing need to do is offer the B747-8I at stupidly low prices to force Airbus to match that price on the A380. Thus Airbus make no profits from the project, their ROI is destroyed and their cash income flow is degraded, making it difficult for them to finance new projects. Boeing's own (relatively low) project costs for the B747-8 will be covered by the freigher versions they sell, leaving Airbus having spent north of $10 billion on the SuperJumbo and a difficult job of earning any return.
Lufthansa allegedly paid circa $80million a piece for their B747-8I's (the price of an A330) and Steven Udvar-Hazy of ILFC told Boeing they wouldn't sell any B747-8I's unless they offered them at an eye-wateringly low price.
In a duopoly, you don't always have to sell your product to make life difficult for the other guy, especially if he's just bet the company.