What if Rex knows the only chance of this operation succeeding is taking the 2nd airline position, not 3rd, and they're just preparing for the possibility of a future with no VA. Virgin has commitments to serve many more routes than the triangle, none of them as profitable. It is likely that the Queensland government's money is contingent on Virgin 2.0 serving many of the regional markets that Virgin 1.0 did, markets that just aren't as profitable as the triangle. Unless you have a monopoly.