Qantas will do exactly that for good reason. It won’t be able to fill a widebody initially out of Melbourne or Brisbane to wherever. It will be able to hub out of Sydney and possibly make it economical to fly one.
Of course the other hub carriers will do ex
exactly the same via their hubs. Even if they only half fill a widebody out of Melbourne to XXX, with the connecting passengers onto the next service the load may be full and the average load factor increases.
Of course, if Melbourne was closer than Sydney to the states or Asia, they’d hub there. However, as you know. It’s not.
Also let’s not forget Qantas ordered the 747-400ERs specifically to fly nonstop LA-MEL. It was the only carrier at the time to do so.
Originally Posted by
Sunfish
And the first services that will start post pandemic will be XXX - SYD.