I don't think Airbus can afford to discontinue the A380. They - as well as their shareholders have too much at stake. Residual values would suffer, secondary market would evaporate, Amedeo (who have 20 on order) may cancel. Rolls Royce shares would take a dive - all in all there is too much interest vested - oh, and I almost forgot to mention Emirates' fleet size and potential 100 + order. What bothers me though is that an A380 NEO would cost a lot to develop - and that is Airbus' big headache.