Australian airline Regional Express Holdings (Rex) entered voluntary administration on 30 July, and all major domestic flights were cancelled.
Ernst & Young Australia (EY Australia) has been appointed Joint and Several Voluntary Administrators by the Rex Group’s respective Boards of Directors.
Since Tuesday, Virgin Australia has stepped in to fill the gap, offering flights to customers whose flights have been cancelled. Regional planes are, however, still said to be operating. Rex’s fleet comprises Boeing 737s for major city routes and Saab 340s for smaller regional routes.
Rex Airlines and Virgin Australia are also exploring opportunities to support regional customers, which include Virgin Australia selling Rex’s regional services through codeshare or interline arrangements, the airline said in a statement.
Photo: Rex
Domestic airline consolidation
Rex Airlines is now the second airline in Australia to go bust in 2024, following the path of low-fare carrier Bonza earlier in the year. This further consolidates the already narrow Australian aviation market.
Whilst it operated as a regional airline from 2002, in 2021, Rex also commenced domestic operations with narrowbody aircraft alongside its regional routes, with services in the golden triangle of Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane. In 2024, it added new routes to its roster, including Melbourne to Perth and an interline agreement with Etihad.
Whilst regional operations still remain open and unaffected by this administration, in September 2023, it cut a number of routes on its network. For now, its future remains uncertain.
LARA has reached out to Ernst & Young for comment.
