Let's look at one small part of the operating cost - fuel.
'holic, the "aircraft operating" figures I was quoting did not include fuel and oil so your assertion is invalid. The "fuel and oil" component of the total costs for Qantas in 2002/03, if you are interested, was 14%.
So how much of that 7% gap is the result of having duplicate sets of infrastructure for different parts of the group?
These figures were from 2002/2003 - Jetstar did not exist then.
Wow, did you pull that one from your...
Yes, that is a figure I came up with myself, but I did state that in the post. What percentage do you reckon the pilot salaries would be of the total staff costs? It would not be less than 20%.
I have found some more research related to airline economics - and the ludicrous claim that "Pilot salaries cost the airline something like a dollar per ticket".
This research again draws on the Qantas annual report from 2002/03 but also something titled "Airline fare October 2003" and details the components of the typical Syd/Mel return airfare (then costing $221).
Of this $221 fare, $4.43 goes to "profit", $17.71 goes to "fuel and oil" and $35.42 goes to "staff".
This indicates that the true figure for pilot salary per ticket is closer to $10. Note again that I am assuming that pilot's salaries are 25% of the total staff costs (my estimate).