I have always thought that it was managements aim to wind back the mainline to only those destinations that can support a full-service airline, that is, where there is a large percentage of pax who are prepared to pay full-fare or business. JetStar was to pick up the discount pax, the tourist destinations, both in Australia and overseas.
No this is not entirely true. It was slated under Dixon that Jetstar would NEVER compete with or cannabilise a QANTAS route. You have been able to buy SYD-MEL (Tullamarine) tickets for a couple of years now. For the 3rd busiest route in the world, QANTAS is making a killing on this sector. If AJ's figures are correct (who can trust them?) QF has 65% of the domestic sector.
As for the international side of things, I work in International, and you are hard pressed trying to find a flight that is not full or not near full on all sectors heading out of SYD. SYD - Jo'berg, SYD-LAX, SYD-SIN, SYD-HKG, SYD-BKK, SYD-HNL.
Something is amiss with the reports coming out of COWARD St Mascot. If International is losing $200million a year, why is $250million being spent on upgrading 744 interiors to A380 status?