Why targeting long-haul flights at economy flyers makes little biz sense

Qantas's international unit made just 10.7 Australian cents of revenue per seat, per kilometer flown in its last fiscal year through June, of which 10.3 Australian cents was used on operating costs

The question about Qantas Airways Ltd.’s plans to start 20-hour direct flights from Sydney to London and New York isn’t why any passenger would want to take the route — it’s why any carrier would want to offer them.
 

For all the hardship of spending a day cooped up with the body odors of a couple of hundred other humans, long-haul flying isn’t a particularly attractive business for airlines, either.
 

Qantas’s international unit made just 10.7 Australian cents of revenue per seat, per kilometer flown in its last fiscal year through June, of which 10.3 Australian cents was eaten up