The $446 million Airbus A380 is the largest and most expensive airliner in the world. Take a look inside.

• The Airbus A380 superjumbo is the largest commercial airliner in history.
• The A380 was once thought to have the potential to revolutionize air travel.
• Instead, the 331 Airbus superjumbos sold now play more of a niche role for flights operating in high-congestion areas.
• The A380 first flew in 2005 and entered service in 2007.
• A while back, we had the chance to take a tour of one Etihad Airways' A380s. 

The Airbus A380 is one of the most impressive and controversial airplanes in aviation history. And as the largest airliner in the world, the A380 is undoubtedly a technological wonder.

When the European planemaker dreamed up the A380 three decades ago, it was for an aircraft that would revolutionize air travel, with grand visions of unprecedented luxury for passengers and earnings power for airlines.

Things haven't worked out quite as well as Airbus hoped. Instead of becoming the workhorse of airlines around the world, the A380 has become relegated to niche duty for high-traffic airports and markets with congestion issues.

Since the early 2000s, Airbus has managed to sell only 331 A380s, with more than half to Dubai's Emirates.

Some industry observers, such as the Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, have gone so far as to call it the biggest mistake in the history of Airbus. According to Aboulafia, the A380 is a poorly executed aircraft designed for a market that doesn't really exist. As a result, the $25 billion that Airbus spent on the A380 program could have been better used elsewhere, like on a rival for Boeing's next-generation 777X or on a true replacement for the aging 757, Aboulafia told Business Insider.

Regardless of the challenges the A380 program faces, the superjumbo remains a truly impressive aircraft. The Airbus A380 is the company's most expensive airliner, with a list price of $445.6 million. That's more than $79 million more than Airbus's second-priciest offering, the A350-1000. It's nearly $43 million more than the Boeing 747-8 and $19.8 million more than Boeing's next-generation 777-9.

A while back, Etihad Airways gave Business Insider access to one of its A380s on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Let's take a closer look at Etihad's Airbus A380 superjumbo:

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The Airbus A380 made its maiden flight in 2005 ...

... before entering service with Singapore Airlines in 2007.

The superjumbo eventually joined the fleets of Emirates ...