Ash W, you miss the point.
No matter how many passengers fly SYD/NAN/LAX (& suggest there are a lot, if FJ cheapest of direct carriers & there were for a long time there) if Air Pacific have some, even a small number of cheap seats (not compared to going via Asia) compared to QF, NZ, UA, VA, DL, then these carriers are more than likely going to have to have some similar fares to seem to be competing.
How small a number of these cheap seats these carriers carriers have to have ?
Well that's debateable, but sometimes thay have a very small number, with a small number at a slighlt higher fare & so on.
It's a bit like real estate, supply only has to exceed demand ever so slightly for prices to fall & conversely, if supply cut, then demand will exceed supply (obviously this is simplied).
By FJ making some SYD/NAN flights which were operated by 747-400 (458 seats) at around 1400, now operated by either a 737-800 or -700 (160 to 120 seats) regardless of the fact that they may have an earlier 737 flight at 0630, means there are less cheap seats to go SYD/NAN/LAX straight thru, menaing less cheap seats to dump, so other carriers don't have to match.
Catch then, is the average punter thinks this is the benchmark price.
Same with Asia Aisa X pulling out of London, Paris & India.
UK govt has shot themselves in the foot by increasing taxes.
They will probably end up with less total taxes recd as it's at lower price point, that people are price sensitive & will opt not to go at all or go somewhere else apart from UK for a holiday.
So not only will they not go to UK at all & not spend anything in UK, but other carriers, of which there are mny combinations to UK from OZ, will not have to match anything likw Air Asia X fares(with the extra aded in) & so less people again will go to the Uk & so creating vicious circle, at a time when the UK economy is in the toilet & they need every penny that tourists may spend.
Conversely, UK govt would have been better reducing taxes to zero & the revenue spend by tourists, would have more than made up for the loss of what are often ridiculous txes in the 1st place.
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