You've got a point. It's the sad, but unfortunate truth, that Airbus will use this chance to get Emirates to order the A350, even though they're ordering an inferior aircraft.
It'll be funny when Emirates runs a bunch of European state owned airlines into bankruptcy using the EU's Airbus planes. The kangaroo route is one of the few high traffic trunk routes where the A380-900 might actually make sense.
I think that even if 10-20 years out there is a market for 500-1000 passenger aircraft, it won't be the Airbus A380 that benefits. Boeing is using their CATIA systems to cut down the design time for aircraft down to 3 years. The technology Boeing is developing for the 787 and later the 737 replacement, will be just as applicable to very large aircraft. Boeing could develop a composite bodied large twin that could destroy the market for the A380. With every new model of 777 and 787 Boeing keeps increasing the limits of ETOPS. They will supposedly test 330 minute ETOPS during the testing of the 777-200LR. If 330 minute ETOPS ever gets approved for commercial operation, there will hardly be any place on Earth except Antarctica off limits to twin engined aircraft.
The A380 was actually designed too conservatively. It was optimized for the 900 model not the 800 model. A modernized 747 with seat mile costs below the 800 model is definitely feasible, while costing just a fraction of the cost of A380 development. Such a plane would preempt the development of the shrink 700 model and take away sales from Airbus.