One of the problems is that almost all A380 carriers are, as you say, "premium carrier[s] that that [are] known for consistently maintaining a young fleet" - bu

One of the problems is that almost all A380 carriers are, as you say, "premium carrier[s] that that [are] known for consistently maintaining a young fleet" - but you need to be a pretty sophisticated operator to run an A380 safely. The operational sophistication you need to run one is really high - everything form maintaining the electronic systems to ensuring that all passengers have left the (very large) cabin can cause issues that require good solutions. The problem is that just about every airline sophisticated to operate an A380 has either bought (at least) as many as they need (Qantas, Air France, etc.) or made a strategic decision that the A380 is not the plane for them (Cathay, the US big 3, etc.). There's a rumor that BA might pick of a few of the used frames, but that's it - and they only have (IIRC) 6, so it's not like that will make much of a dent in the market even if they double their fleet size.