Originally Posted by
yoloswag420
While the Australian government does work very closely w/ Qantas, the state still wants to promote competition for its population and having a 3rd airline on this route will be beneficial.
If the route is only marginally profitable now (which would appear to be the case, or carriers would have added capacity without needing subsidies), adding a third, subsidized airline might make the route for the non-subsidized airlines unprofitable, leading them to pull out.
If I were UA or QF, I'd certainly be making that threat unless I got the same subsidy as DL.