Sadly the A380 never was the future, it was a reincarnation of the MD-12 of the 1990s. The only way to obtain a magnitude reduction in seat-km costs was to go

Sadly the A380 never was the future, it was a reincarnation of the MD-12 of the 1990s. The only way to obtain a magnitude reduction in seat-km costs was to go all-in on advanced aerodynamics like a blended-wing-body. Once Airbus had shied away from that there really was no logical reason to continue.