As reported in Flight International 19 September, Teal Group’s Richard Aboulafia had this to say about the A380:
..he described it as “born to die”.
The final delivery will take place by 2020 “with unpleasant losses all around”.
“Launched with a hideous mix of hubris, shoddy market analysis, nationalism and simple wishful thinking, the A380 was destined for a short, painful life”.
“This has been a learning experience, albeit one for people who should have known better from the start. When launching a new jet, it’s important to survey the market trends, regulatory changes, likely technological developments, and customer preferences. None of that was done here”.
Oh, and it sure is an ugly brute too.