Not directly answering your question but I see could see Qantas creating a subsidiary just for ops to Lord Howe Islands with their old Q200s as they will definately look at getting them out of the mainline fleet in the near future.
I do see flights being operated to LDH with second hand DHC-6 Twin Otters or brand new 400 series model Twin Otters by some other airline. I am not sure of the specifications of the aircraft but it probably can make it to LDH from a port in Australia.
Just my opinion!
