Flying point-to-point will probably never really kick of. Not in Europe anyway. The reasons I think so is:

* Shortage of capacity, airways, ATC etc
* Environmental lobby is very strong around here. This has restricted a lot of airports. Schiphol for instance could handle more flights and passengers if the laws were not soo strict. Also, take offs and landings are not allowed during the night.
* Too much competition with other forms of transport. In the US you do not have an alternative to long distance travel. In Europe you can take the high speed trains. Often the trains are even faster than the plane (often not cheaper though). As a consequence in Air France has had to cut most of its domestic network.
* Airlines want to save costs. By using a hub you can do with less flights. This saves wages, planes, fuel etc… It’s all about obtaining larger economies of scale.
* Europe is divided in countries. Yes, every European carrier can fly everywere in Europe, but that does not mean it is easily accepted. A lot of passengers still stick to what they know. Often this means their respective flag carrier and/or local charter companies.
* Even if local passengers will step on the foreign carrier there are local autorities that are still in a mindset to favour local carriers. Only few countries are really open for all carriers.