Quentin,
Ask 10 LAMES get 10 answers. The 380's are probably less/same AOG than any other fleet. They are just often further away. Those who say the Jumbo is always rescuing the 380 are merely looking through rose-coloured glasses at the venerable 747. There are a lot of LAMEs with the 744 'ticket' and a lot who also have the 747 classic compared to the chosen few who have the 380 training and they tend to talk up the 747 as opposed to the plastic whale (myself included).
Early in the 380 life when there was only a few in the fleet, when they went AOG and when they all were grounded after the engine explosion out of Sing, the mighty 747 stepped in to complete all the services by 'extending' 'pushing-back' maintenance on the 744's. However, remember this was before the complete destruction of the fleet by the current fools at the helm. When the 380 was introduced, Q had 30, yes thirty 744's and still had 5 747 classics. There was certainly enough to cover 1 broken 380 out of a fleet of say 4-6 aircraft during fleet buildup.
The sad reality now though is there are only 12 747's left and that will soon be 9. The 747's barely operate any routes at all, let alone help out 380 routes and it has been like this for years. Would love a nice big fat order of 747-8 intercontinentals! (Tell him he's dreaming)
