Originally Posted by
Going Boeing
If Perth Airport doesn't come to the party, Qantas may look at Darwin as an alternative. Darwin is closer to Northern Europe destinations than Perth by about 400NM (Southern Europe are almost identical distances). Obviously Perth has some commercial advantages over Darwin but if Perth Airport doesn't want to stump up the money, they could lose the business.
And Darwin has an alternate not far away, one of Perths issues.
Still Perth as you say is commercially advantageous, although Darwin may be as attractive for inbound tourists as first stop.