Originally Posted by
babats
Down under do they have competition on domestic routes? If so then airlines probably have to try a little bit harder to provide a decent service else they lose custom.
In the UK it very much fly BA (mainline or CF) or get the train as the domestic services are really there to feed regional pax into BA's hubs at LHR / LCY (and not forgetting day trippers mainly for business). Thus the need for a winning proposition doesn't really exist.
I think it's the lack of competition that keeps the prices high and the sandwich present. I believe as recently as 3 years ago QF had a little over 60% of the domestic market. I don't think any airline holds that huge of a share on the intra-European market. There is so so much more competition in Europe. History shows that if an airline has to compete that airline does not add a sandwich but lowers the costs and offers cheaper prices instead.
But I'd agree with
Dan72. While it was interesting to read the OP's thoughts, these are two very different markets and I am not sure what is the relevance of such a comparison.