Australian airline, Regional Express Holdings (Rex), entered into voluntary administration on 30 July, with all major domestic flights cancelled.
Ernst & Young Australia (EY Australia) have been appointed Joint and Several Voluntary Administrators by the Rex Group’s respective Boards of Directors.
Since Tuesday, Virgin Australia have 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.
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, further consolidating 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 have reached out to Ernst & Young for comment.