I just want to see what happens when they get returned after their leases expire...I'm sure Airbus will re-engine this one
I wouild not be so sure about that. The first 200 or so of any production run pay for the development, tooling, and other sunk costs. The manufacturer does not start making a profit until after the first 200 or so aircraft are built and delivered. Both Airbus and Boeing like to have at least a few years of profitable production in any model before they throw a lot of development money into that model, and a re-engine campaign is EXPENSIVE. A380 production has not yet reached profitability and they've sold zero A380s this year. Airbus has enough orders to keep the line going for another three years or so, and without additional orders, they'll only make a profit the last year of production. Throwing billions into a re-engine program before the airplane has made a significant profit would not be a good business move. On top of that, only ONE airline has even expressed an interest in a re-engined A380. Making that huge invenstment for only one customer would be mighty risky. Remember, the "bean counter" was talking to investors and potential investors. Such investors would be very skittish about investing in Airbus if Airbus decided to throw large sums of money into what appears to be a money losing program. On the other hand, Airbus might be able to get various governments to pay for such an investment, like they got government to invest in the A380 development in the first place. Governments are well known for doing things that make little or no business sense.
Like Concord, A380 may turn out to be a fantastic engineering accomplishment that sadly does not have a viable market.