I'm curious if Australian Airlines (AO) flights will eventually be eligible for miles (and points) in the various OW programs?

Right now, it seems you can't earn any on QF but can redeem miles there.

As you mentioned, currently you can only redeem on Australian Airlines services. Hopefully with the expansion of the airline over the next 18 months that policy will be reviewed.

Initially the airline is primarily targeting Asian travellers and tour groups, and from all reports it has been quite successful as Australian is claiming bookings of more than 70% through to April 03. However my feeling is that once the airline is expanded to more than one Australian port they may need to target Australian travellers. Earning miles would be one potentially effective way of getting Australians on-board.

Australian is being dubbed a 'low-cost' carrier, however this more accurately refers to operational costs. The ticket prices are not discount fares, therefore I think there may be some consumer pressure on Qantas to enable people to earn miles on these routes.

Just my two cents worth, but I for one would gladly fly Australian if I could earn miles.

Unfortunately, the move to replace QF services with one class Australian Airlines essentially means many travellers will take other airlines. When QF pulled out of Nagoya, it left many with no choice but to fly with CX via HKG, MH via KUL or SQ via Sin.

Progress - whats next?

Sounds as controvercial as TANGO and AC's measures to introduce low-cost [operating] alternatives on routes that no longer can sustain full service airline service. If the loads are indeed in the 70% range, then QF is likely making lots of money on these flights, and unlikely to be missing any lost front cabin passengers. Doesn't seem to deter customers that no FF miles/points are offered either.

Welcome to the new world of airlines: frills are out, and higher margins are the objective. Not offering FF miles/points is a smart move, since these do cost money and reduce the profit margins considerably. Providing 10K FF points on a SYD-NGO round trip could cost $100 at a penny a point. That $100 looks a lot better on the balance sheet of this new carrier, than in someone's FF account.

I wouldn't say the paying front cabin pax are not missed. The truth is that CNS is a leisure destination and QF through AO is catering to that. Much like how BA used to cater to the Caribbean and TPA destinations with high-density 777s and how NW caters for the Japan-HNL market (446 seat 742s).

I my experience with Taiwan's travel agents counts for anything, I don't doubt that they have 70% load on the books. The average Taiwanese agency has a 3:1 ratio of bookings vs. customer. They tend to book 3 different dates in advance, then pull them all together a month before travel date. 70% probably refers to advance reservations by tour operators.