Australian regional carrier Rex Airlines announced that its domestic jet operations had swung into profitability for the month of September, the first time since resuming operations in February 2022.
Rex Executive Chairman Lim Kim Hai said, “Rex’s domestic jet operations only properly started in the month of February this year because of the shutdowns in 2021 due to COVID. To turn in a profit so soon after the restart of operations is truly unprecedented in the airline world. This result was foreshadowed in our media release of 24 June 2022 when we predicted that the agreements with corporates and travel agencies, finalised at the tail end of the prior Financial Year (FY), would very quickly translate into strong passenger and revenue growth. True to form, our domestic jet network passenger numbers for the first three months of this FY grew by 60 percent, 34 percent and 77 percent respectively when compared to June 2022.”
“Revenue growth has been even stronger at 84 percent, 47 percent, and 137 percent for the same three months, suggesting significant yield improvements,” Lim said. “The board gave guidance on 2 August 2022 that it expected FY 2023 to be profitable overall and the current results has further strengthened its conviction. Encouragingly, October 2022 appears to be even stronger than September 2022, with passenger numbers on the jet network 16 percent higher for the first half of the month when compared with the previous month while revenue increased 35 percent on 13 percent more flying. In response to the strong demand, we are actively looking for another two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft to expand our domestic jet services.”
Rex and Delta launch interline services
Rex Airlines and Delta Air Lines have launched an interline service agreement that will create a streamlined travel experience for passengers flying between Australia and mainland America. Under this new agreement, the services will enable:
- Delta Passengers travelling from the U.S., Canada and Mexico to access an expanded network of Rex Airlines’ domestic connections to capital cities and across Rex’s regional network to 58 destinations throughout all states in Australia, including but not limited to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie;
- Rex Passengers travelling to the U.S. easy access to 40 cities;
- Passengers are able to book all flights, including connecting flights, under the one booking, with a single baggage drop where permitted.
Rex Deputy Chairman John Sharp said, “We are proud to enhance our services to our ever increasing loyal customers by offering seamless connections from our regional and domestic ports to a quality international carrier such as Delta Air Lines. This interline arrangement will make it easier for Australians to visit the U.S. allowing customers to connect onto Delta Air Lines’ U.S. network and for Americans to explore more of Australia with over 58 destinations. We are thrilled to be working with a world-class airline,” he said.
Delta’s Head of Sales – Australia and New Zealand, Nicole Bennett said: “We are excited to be expanding the domestic Australian relationship with Rex Airlines to enable our customers to connect seamlessly to our daily Sydney – Los Angeles flight. This service will increase to 10 flights per week from 18 December flying our flagship A350.”
Los Angeles serves as one of Delta’s most important coastal hubs, where the airline today operates 140 daily flights to 53 destinations across the globe. To begin with, flights to destinations are on sale from today via your trusted Travel Agent and Online Travel Agency websites.
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