There are room for some confusion there. The order were announced in 2013 but were not made formally until 2014.
What can save the 380 is that the only plane that can replace a 380 is another 380. Not too far into the future the olders 380 will need replacement and atleast some of them will be replaced by new 380:s
The 747 on the other hand is too small to have any significant advantage over the largest twins like 777-300. The 380 have its size atleast to compete with.
The will only be replaced by 380s with new engines. And that will most likely be only new engines to the fleet of already existing 380s. "Ordering" an airplane and "selling" it are two different things. The 380 didnt win 26% of the jumbo market. It won 26% of its own market. The 747-8 only sold in its freight configuration while the 380 freight, or 380F, never even made it to the assembly lines. Even some of the finished, or almost finished 380s, are in trouble of at best being sold for a big loss as airlines are restructuring their plans or even canceling any further involvement in the program.
http://airwaysnews.com/blog/2015/01/21/program-analysis-airbus-a380-struggles-but-a-business-case-exists-for-neo/And boeing built the 747-8 to meet the 380 and it failed to do so.
The 747-400 is in class with 340-600 and 777-300 and are therefor doomed just like the 340 because noone will fly a 4 engine plane when they can fly a 2 engine plane. And since the 777-300 is only marginaly smaller than a 747-8 Boeing killed the 747 all by themselves. The 380 is big enough to stand out from the rest.
It doesnt matter how big the 380 is. In fact it turns out to be a hindrance. The only thing that matters is how much money can be made per seat on an airplane, and thats any airplane. The 380 is only profitable when its filled and it can only be filled in very few markets and Hubs. Also the size of the thing slows down airport operations which costs the airports and airlines even more money.
You're missing the point. The A380 was designed to conquer the 747's market.
As was the 777 and the A340. These are not small airplanes and both have more range then the 747, the 777 has a version that has the longest range in the industry. The bottom line is its not all that easy filling a 747 with 550 passengers, and the 380 only holds marginally more. So when your 550 seat airplane needs 400 passengers just to break even it makes an airline nervous ordering them. Most of all when your two engine wide body easily fills 350+ of its 400 seats and consistently makes you money and does it while costing you less entirely down the chain. From purchase, to gate fee's, to fuel costs, to maintenance.
The 380 was never really built to replace anything. No more then the 747 was. It was built to be an entirely new people mover that reflected the future of air travel which was thought to be moving more people from the same, or less, Hubs. The airplane has done everything it was designed to do unfortunately the market has let Air Bus down. They took a major gamble and lost, even if it the time it didnt really seem like a gamble and instead appeared to be sound planning.
Boeing hedged its bets on a slightly redesigned 747 which already had an assembly line open and had already made a ton of money. It didnt lose much on the 747-8 and was even able to sell some cargo versions. The 787 is already flying, its technical problems worked out, and is building and delivering 10 per month. Which is more then any twin aisle in History and by the end of the decade will be 14 per month. Over 1,000 have been firm ordered by over 60 different airlines. Im sure the A350 will be a success but its coming to the game late due to the A380.
And the only thing that "killed" the two Jumbo jets is the market itself.
