[Proud_USA_Republican]

British Airways might end up being the passenger version launch customer. BA loves the 747 for its international travel routes.

But what might also happen is that airlines like Quantas and Sinapore will dump some of the A380 orders it has for the new 747 as well. They probably negotiated firm orders for A380s and options for more. They could kill the option orders easily and given all the problems Airbus has had trying to get the weight of the A380 down to what they promised the airlines when they signed the contracts, carriers might be able to pull out of the firm order contracts for the A380 a lot easier.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Here is a very telling sign:

" Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, delivered a snub to Airbus yesterday by saying there were "big question marks" over its A380 superjumbo and indicating the airline was potentially interested in buying the stretched Boeing 747 about to be launched by its rival. "

I was wondering ? from this article, it says that BA can " exchange " some 747-400 for new 747-800, does that mean they were leased ? or will Boeing lease them back, or buy them back, and convert them to cargo planes ?
Boeing can still find a market were they can sell some used 747-400 converted to cargo versions.
( from the Independent Online article: BA chief hints he may buy new Boeing, not Airbus ) " BA has 57 Boeing 747-400s in its fleet, the oldest of which is 16 years. They seat 413 passengers in a standard three-class configuration. It is considering exchanging some for the new 747 Advanced, which will have an extra 30-40 seats. "