There are many reasons why the A380 didn't have a large market, which would indirectly contribute to its cost effectiveness. But there's a dominant, ELI5 narrat

There are many reasons why the A380 didn't have a large market, which would indirectly contribute to its cost effectiveness. But there's a dominant, ELI5 narrative that says that the A380 was intrinsically uncompetitive because 4 engined planes couldn't be as fuel efficient as 2 engined planes. Maybe that's true, but I found the counter argument interesting and persuasive. I think this is the article I originally read, https://leehamnews.com/2018/12/13/has-the-a380-worse-economics-than-the-777-9-or-a350-1000/#comments https://leehamnews.com/2018/12/13/has-the-a380-worse-economi... but it's paywalled. Here's an older article with similar points, https://leehamnews.com/2015/12/11/bjorns-corner-twins-or-quads/ https://leehamnews.com/2015/12/11/bjorns-corner-twins-or-qua...