In the specific thread regarding the A388 that had to divert to Baku, AFFers remarked that pre-Christmas didn't seem overly busy, and that "only" 356 passengers on that A388 (when because it's peak time, you'd expect it to be full or almost full) may indicate the predicted consumer downturn is already biting.
QFi's extremely high fares may not help it to fill planes, so maybe bookings haven't been as good as expected - hence easier to have 'spare' planes and claim it's only to aid punctuality and minimise cancellations. The latter may be part of the reason, but not the complete story?
If there are/were two A330s 'spare', why then was QF19 to MNL yesterday forced to wait all day for VH-QPI to become available, with pushback delayed from the scheduled 1225 hours to c.1900 hours?
