cxorcist,
I am glad you have declared your bias for the 747-8I, hence people can understand why you have decided to post misinformation.
1. Lufthansa has within the last 12 months increased the number of seats they are planning to deploy on the 747-8I, less premium and more economy. Lufthansa is looking at installing approximately 90-95% of the theoretical 467 seats Boeing says a 747-8I can have, Cathay typically sits at around the 80% mark. The 747-8I and A380 were compared also by Emirates/Singapore/Qantas, and it was considered it did not have any economic advantage over the 747-8I with their seats installed. The Lufthansa numbers you presented also agree with this.
2. The A380 has two more LD3 positions than the 747-8I, not the other way around. The A380 has 50% more floor space than a 744, that is also real revenue potential. The A380 in size is an A333 ontop of the 744 main deck. The 747-8I has a 4 m plug in front of the wing and a 1.5 m plug aft of the wing, that translates to 6 EY rows.
3. Qantas operates daily LAX-MEL with the A380. LAX-MEL no wind is 131 nm shorter than JFK-HKG (only operated direct by the 777-300ER and A340-600), with the enroute winds, LAX-MEL is longer than JFK-HKG in air nautical miles. I do not know where you get this idea that the A380 cannot do the 600 nm shorter LAX-HKG route (compared to LAX-MEL), when on a daily basis Qantas operates LAX-MEL, and Emirates operate SYD-DXB, both of which are longer flights.
4. When freighters have interiors, galleys, toilets, and IFE, then they will be some commonality between them. At the moment Cathay is not setup at all for a new large passenger aircraft, it will require investment either way. If Cathay went for the 747-8I, we would have to buy a lot more spares as very few of them have been ordered, we could not rely on other airline stores. A380 spares are already in place at HKG, SYD, SIN, BKK, LHR, FRA, CDG, DXB, LAX, and JFK.
5. A380 total trip costs are lower than a 744, and if you believe what Emirates say, it is 20% better on a per seat basis than a 777-300ER, and Singapore says 20% better than their 744s. The A380 also has a 4000 ft higher initial cruising altitude than the 744/747-8, meaning they will fly above most of the other 747/777 traffic being able to stay at it optimum level, it would open up more enroute slots to Europe for Cathay.
6. Higher cabin humidity is available as an option from other manufacturers, for example Air Mauritius has humidifiers installed on their A340s. The majority of the cabin humidity that will exist on the 787 will come from the passengers, current aircraft remove this. The 787 does not carry water to humidity the cabin, and the outside air is dry.
7. I do not think you have ever flown an Airbus, so I do not think you can make any objective comment. However lots of us have been deafened by the 747 cockpit noise levels, myself included.
