I think it still depends, for the flights I have done most often most recently the hub and spoke model is still very efficient. For Europe to Australia you pret

I think it still depends, for the flights I have done most often most recently the hub and spoke model is still very efficient. For Europe to Australia you pretty much have to, it's an 8 and 13 hour flight combination, either going through the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) or Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, etc). For these longer flights between big cities, being able to pack more passengers in is still desirable.