[Scramblejams]

When I worked in aerospace I was told by a Boeing old-timer that he was sure Boeing only made the 747-700X proposal last as long as it did in order to force Airbus into making the A380 mistake, and that none of the Boeing insiders thought a plane that big would ever make real sense to spend money developing. Naturally I have no way to verify this, but it's a fun corporate strategy conspiracy theory.

[gsnedders]

I don't think there's any question that it was a response to the A380, and it's quite plausible they wouldn't have developed it without the A380. That said, compared with the A380 development the 747-8 will have been cheap to develop, and had an impact on the market as a whole even if it scarcely made much money.

[coin]

Yup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUmJ9rSVrKQ

[Tiltowait--]

It's pretty sad how Airbus defines themselves in comparison to Boeing, and Europeans define themselves in comparison to Americans in general. They don't have much identity of their own other than "screw you America! I'm the opposite of whatever you stand for!" It's so small-minded and petty, but unfortunately it's reality.