Rex Airline to fly two regional routes in Western Australia from Feb 2016

Regional Express Airline (Rex) will soon fly Western Australia’s two regional routes. This follows its selection as the preferred tenderer for the WA government-regulated routes of Perth-Esperance and Perth-Albany. The service will begin in Feb, 2016.

“Subject to final negotiations, Rex will enter into a contract with the Department of Transport to operate the routes for the next five-year licence period commencing 28 February 2016,” Rex said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday. Rex said it would release more information after the contract is finalised, the Australian Aviation reported.

Transport minister of WA, Dean Nalder, said the Esperance route would benefit from frequent flights and increased capacity to carry more passengers.

“The airline's substantial experience, customer service and efficient transport operations are highly regarded,” Nalder said.

Virgin's retreat

Currently, the two routes are being serviced by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA) using their 46-seat Fokker 50s. However, VARA has opted out of the current bid citing losses and is planning to sell the fleet of Fokker 50s.

Now, VARA will operate the last flight to Albany and Esperance on Feb 27, 2016 - the day its contract ends. Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti said the flights were losing money.

“The losses, frankly were just too big,” Borghetti told reporters and added that the airline could not find a way to make it work.

Rex jubilant

Meanwhile, Rex is excited and is in final negotiations. The new contact will allow Rex to operate services on the Esperance-Perth route for an initial term of five years, starting Feb. 28, 2016.

Rex is Australia's largest independent regional airline and it claimed that the services are based on reliability, safety and efficiency, according to a report by Esperance Express.

“Rex specialises solely on the provision of regional air services, particularly Regular Public Transport (RPT) services,” a spokesperson for Rex said.

Rex currently service 54 ports throughout South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. This is the first time that airline is getting a break into the Western Australian regional flight market.

“Rex has always been the most on-time and reliable airline in Australia according to the Federal Government's BITRE statistics and our cancellation rate is a fraction of the other regional operators,” a spokesperson for Rex added.

For feedback/comments, contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.