DrPepz,
QF94:
It is not fair to just use comparisons with cities that QF flies to. QF's international network is so small and the airline cannot take foreigners and Australians alike to and from most destinations either on a direct flight with one flight number.
QF's Europe network includes only LHR and FRA
Asia is basically BKK, MNL, CGK, SIN, NRT, PVG and HKG.
There are many more Australians who want to go to places other than LHR and FRA, and many other foreigners who originate in cities other than LHR and FRA in Europe.
The reason only 18% of intl pax into and out of Australia use QF is because QF's intl network is just too small to be of relevance to most passengers - Australians and foreigners alike.
I fail to understand how it is not fair to use comparisons with cities that QANTAS flies to. That would be like using a hypothetical scenario on a sector to Moscow from Australia, that Aeroflot has 100% of the market share and QANTAS has 0%. Using AJ's logic, people prefer to fly Aeroflot because QANTAS can't compete on price and they provide a better service. When in reality, QANTAS doesn't fly to Moscow, because it isn't viable, so they would code share on that sector.
Generally speaking, most people going to Europe want to go to LHR, then fan out from there. That's where most airilines fly to (BA, EK, Etihad). Most people going to the US want to go to LA and fan out from there. The main Asian cities that most airlines go to are SIN, BKK, HKG.
QANTAS used to fly to Rome, Paris, Athens, Manchester and depending on how far back you want to go, they even used to stop in the Middle East. But as is constantly mentioned in the press and on this forum, things change. As they changed, QANTAS pulled out of those destinations and code shared with carriers that fly there, freeing up aircraft to pursue a greater share on more profitable routes. i.e. USA, South Africa, South America, etc.
As we all know, Australia is a destination port. Not a hub. Not bad for a carrier that carried 197,547 passengers out of Australia and 209,339 passengers in, for the month of August. Also, Australia has a very small population in comparison to the rest of the world.
The reality is QANTAS carries 18% of all traffic out of Australia, and 31% of traffic to destinations it flies to in direct competition with other airlines.