Other factor is that SQ put up with marginal yields on the ULH to New York because it took a lot of high yielding pax away from competitor airlines.
So even though it wasn't a money spinner for them it hurt the competition which is just as good.
QF would, or at least should, be thinking along the same lines.
Absolutely. This is the general gist of what I mean, and Per - Lhr could be financially marginal for a while to take this traffic, and build customer confidence.
It also positions them at the forefront with a market that is confident in their ability to provide what they say they offer, once the Aircraft is available (777-8X might do SYD-JFK with 250 to 300pax, but I wouldn't think QF is going to buy it until it can do east coast direct LHR as well, perhaps an aux tank here, efficiency/weight refinements there, etc = lager order, better scale...). QF may not be the first to do the ULR thing, but Coke wasn't the original Cola, Apple wasn't the original computer, though they are now among the top companies within their respective markets because people know and like what they get.
The real eventual success of these long range flights will be capturing, (and in the case of First Class, re-capturing), the premium travellers who will pay a 10% or 20% premium to save the 3 or more hours in a direct flight.
I'm purely speculating with all this, but hey, if its true, the chance of a spare seat next to you in the crappy 9 abreast economy class might be quite good!