Originally Posted by
Anti Skid On
I think you've got the ME market a little wrong. For traffic to/from Australia and NZ the ME acts as an incredible hub from mainland Europe as well as Africa. They can consolidate passengers from regions with 100's of millions population.
However, having multiple carriers in close proximity (e.g. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar) dilutes that potential market. I can see the first two merging, but they will still serve multiple cities between them, and they will still sardine backpackers into A380's
I understand the crossroads model pretty well because its pretty basic. I was speaking to the end of open skies and a return to a more protectionist model. Ie: local traffic with limited beyond rights. Its going to be a different, much poorer world. Expect to see some old fashioned remedies.