Americans always need to be concerned about liability. Take for instance accidents that have triggered the demise of what were once premier US carriers. Lockerbie with the loss of a 747 load of passengers was a major piece to the end of PanAm. Flight 800 with the loss of another planeload was a large nail in the coffin of TWA. Even if you aren't responsible for the accident accidents with heavy loss of life strikes fear into passengers plus lawyers are vultures heading for the deepest pockets. Is that a consideration as to why US carriers have shunned the 380? Then there is the flexibility of multiple flights with different timings - one daily flight might not fit the schedules that 3 smaller flights with large twins, so due to convenience you end up with say 3 350 passenger loads instead of 1 550 passenger load just because you meet the customer demand. Would Airbus have been better served to have developed a competitor to the 777 instead of making the huge investment in the 380 and now still being a year away from airline passengers in a twin that has over 800 pre-orders? I remember the old days when I thought of a twin as always having one engine to get you to the scene of the crash but my last flight on anything with more than 2 was one of Northwest's last DC-10 flights. I also remember dreading arrival at an airport just behind 2 747's and getting stuck for what seemed like ages getting through immigration.