CO definitely still has traffic rights and could operate more flights to Oz anytime they wanted to ... for some reason they stick to the Guam-CNS puddle-jumper. They did fly DC-10s LAX-SYD (via Fiji and American Samoa) for many years, in the 80s. One of the arguments that QF routinely uses against new entrants on this route -- one of the most profitable in the world -- is that so many airlines have dormant route authorities, so there is no need for new competition. I am 80% sure that AA could also operate LAX-SYD tomorrow (ie. that all the paperwork is in place and current) if they wanted to, but of course they don't, as AA is quite happy with their codeshares on QF. Personally I think the US-Australia airline situation has crippled the tourist traffic and has cost Australia billions of dollars a year in lost tourist revenues. There are a decade of statistics that indicate this. So enriching QF's coffers has come at a high price for the Australian economy.