Ken V has covered the possibility of an A380F comprehensively! Remember the B747 was originally designed as a freighter. Many of the major modifications an A380F would require, especially floor loading, were originally designed into the B747.
Regarding the Boeing v. Airbus VLA it should not be forgotten that Boeing offered Airbus a consortium to build a joint aircraft, which Airbus refused, so Boeing immediately pulled out of the VLA market, saying they doubted there was sufficient support for it. Airbus are claiming they are now breaking even on the A380, possibly some creative accounting there? I believe 269 delivered was the original BE figure but that stretched out to nearer 500 after all the penalties that were incurred due to late delivery plus the heavy discounting applied to early customers. Probably depends on how cheap loans and various 'subsidies' are included in the costings.
Airbus thought they would be replacing the 450 or so B747-400 delivered, they didn't take into account that the B747 replacement was already flying in the shape of the B777 and the A330, with future, even more efficient twins like the B787 and the A350 already in the design stage.
Last edited by parabellum; 17th Sep 2016 at 10:12.
Reason: Wrong number posted.