Following the A380 story since its early years (I live close to XFW
) I am pro A380. Besides this fact I am also able to have a look at the market and its numbers.
Sure the A380 will not be sold in numbers like the good B737 but it fits (as mentioned here before) into a special niche. The question is: how big is this niche? Currently about 200 a/c + 50 something options. EK just recently announced to order more A380 aircraft. No numbers were given yet. The current order book will keep the A380 production busy for about 10+ years (depending on production ramp up). I say its enough to secure more orders to extend the production time. To bring the aircraft to success it will need at least 15...25 ordered aircraft a year over that period of time. Looking at the numbers from the last few years I have to express my doubts.
A comment on the "quality" and "look-and-feel" debate (Pax view):
Generally I prefer the A320 series over the B737 family aircraft (one reason for me to go on Air Berlin instead of Lufthansa on the route I fly every month). Even with refurbishments the B737 "looks and feels" a bit outdated. Well, this type of a/c is a lot older than the A320. A replacement for the B737 was announced ages ago. Let's see if it will come with an interior that I will like.