PF,
return fares started as low as £187.00 and without a LoCo in sight!!!
You didn't say where they were routed via
I don't doubt the usefulness of an east-west hub for one moment. My question was whether or not such a hub can exist in a way that makes a profit for all concerned.
I don't expect loco to Russia anytime soon from the UK - see thread on Caucasus for a bit more on that. Nor do I expect the locos to provide all things to all people - but they still have their use, look how quickly MOL has been to "rescue" (out of the goodness of his heart of course) BUD routes - obviously much easier in the off season of course!
CSA used to feed into PRG from STN, BHX, MAN and iirc EDI, offering the very kind of connections you mention - now all gone. LO & OS might offer something useful, but only via London.
So if there's a place to serve these markets that is still to the west of CDG & AMS, surely it is CPH or FRA? Germany already has many more flights to Russia - simple question of geography makes more sense to support such routes (iirc 7 options from FRA with LH alone).