At Simple Flying, we receive a constant stream of aviation news 24/7/365 from international news agencies, airlines, OEMs and the world’s community of aviation enthusiasts.
Sifting through all of these every day is a lot of fun and every now and again a golden nugget appears from an unlikely source that brings a fresh perspective, such as this recent one from the Albany Advertiser in Western Australia.
This is real feedback
Albany is a port city at the southern tip of Western Australia around 420 kilometers (260 miles) from Perth on the edge of the Great Australian Bight. It has around 33,000 residents who rely heavily on air services provided by Regional Express Airlines (Rex), which in August retained the government tender to operate flights between Albany and Perth until 2028.
Photo: Steve Worner/Shutterstock
In the middle of last month, the Albany Advertiser published a Letter to the Editor entitled “Rex, you must do better” from Albany resident Tricia Denton. It’s a longish letter (for a newspaper) that focuses on a delayed and then canceled Rex flight to Perth. The writer was critical of the airline’s customer service and said that Rex had “made it difficult for tourists, medical personnel and the general public to want to fly with you.”
It also said that Rex was not informing people why flights were canceled and that most people are patient and will understand if told pilots need rest time or there is an issue with the aircraft.
It’s a well-balanced critique of how this person views their cancelation and what it means for residents with few options, other than driving, to get to Perth on the Rex flight. Compared to the vitriol currently being thrown at Qantas it’s a rather tame complaint that could have easily slipped through the cracks at a major airline.
Photo: Rex
No spin from Rex
However, that’s not how Rex responds to its customers and its response is published on the same page of the September 14 edition of the Albany Advertiser. Rex is an airline that was born in rural Australia, and its aircraft carry the airline’s creed of “Our heart is in the country.”
It’s an airline that understands its role in connecting communities but is also open and honest when it misses the mark, even if the causes are beyond its control. The published reply from Rex started with:
“We acknowledge the reduced reliability of Rex’s services in the past months and we are truly sorry for the disruptions that so many of our passengers have experienced. We have apologised publicly for this. While Rex has faced the external challenges way better than any other carrier, we continue to explore all options to reduce the inconvenience faced by our passengers.”
Photo: Regional Express
Rex also said that it had drawn up plans to utilize the resources of its joint venture partner airline, National Jet Express so that their aircraft could be used whenever Rex aircraft or pilots are unavailable. National Jet Express is a Perth-based airline that specializes in charter flights to mining projects, and its operations center will also provide assistance with passenger communication in times of disruption.
It is a fact that for most of this year, Rex has been the domestic airline with the fewest cancelations and best on-time performance, earning it the title of Australia’s Most Reliable Airline. It has seen a significant number of its pilots siphoned away by the major carriers, particularly the Qantas Group, and despite having two pilot academies it can’t produce pilots quickly enough to fill those seats.
The real point is that Rex has immediately and publicly owned its performance and quickly responded to a customer in a country city who was asking it to do better, well away from the bright lights of national TV news. There is no spin or blame-shifting from the airline but it is taking responsibility and promising to lift its game, an approach that the new Qantas CEO would do well to adopt.
Source: Albany Advertiser