Lowerlobe - I agree that the current LCC model in Australia only offers a [very] few $10 seats - and yes, you will get the shock of your life if you try to book last minute. It comes down to the basic equation - it costs the airline [any airline] an average of $7000-$9000 an hour to operate their aircraft [less for smaller aircraft, more for larger aircraft]. They have to amortise the cost somehow.
Chimbu - agree - if you're going to be screwed at $490 a sector, then demand to be screwed in comfort! But if everyone is getting fares at railway or bus prices, AND its a relatively short sector, then who needs the comfort. I just want to get there. It's like a tram ride in Melbourne, or a bus commute in Sydney - you put up with an hour's discomfort for the sake of only paying $5.00. If you want comfort - take a hire car, but pay 10 times the price.
NN - agree that the European - or even N American sectors - are all relatively short - average is 90 minutes. In Australia, that would cover the most popular routes - SY/BN, SY/ML, ML/AD, SY/AD, ML/TAS etc. If a LCC was serious about giving the travelling public a real alternative, they'd offer 100% of their seats at $10 - booked one year in advance, or 1 hour in advance - and offset the remaining costs as the European or N American LCCs do.
By the way - the European LCC model is really based on a 'return to base' philosophy - that is, they won't operate long haul, as it requires too much staff overhead [crew rest, management staff, maintenance etc]. They'd rather send their aircraft out on 1-2 hour legs, and ensure the crews come home each day. Typically, the longest LCC legs in Europe would be 3-4 hours - say London/Athens, or Amsterdam/Tenerife, etc.
I've flown on LCCs dozens of times in Europe and N America - up to 2 hours is tolerable - anything more is hard work. But I can say that for the short haul ops - around one hour - it is increasingly like getting on a bus or train. Thta's what we should be aiming for here.