without V2, alliance & any other australian or NZ charter airline, along with air nz could fill some of the gap, before even letting in foreign carriers, like during pilots dispute. (obviously NZ is foreign but a special case as has traffic rights in OZ already)
Remember Yugoslavia airline JAT (DC10s I think), Air Méditerranée (737), RAAF & other carriers flying domestically filling void.
What did RAAF carry pax in ?