A Rex Airlines flight attendant who lost her job has issued a heartbreaking response to a frustrated customer following the company’s collapse.
The airline, which entered voluntary administration on Tuesday night, has cancelled all flights between major city airports, causing travel pain for thousands of customers.
One impacted customer complained about her flight cancellation on social media: ‘Rex Airlines have entered administration and have cancelled my flights with less than 48 hours notice.
‘They’re supposed to be offering transfers to Virgin free of charge but we’ve been on hold with them for over an hour already.’
In response to the angry customer, former Rex flight attendant Layla Rackley pointed out that many workers, including herself, had recently lost their jobs.
‘I know this is so frustrating but the Rex staff, including myself, have lost our jobs very unexpectedly and we are all heartbroken.
‘I hope your flights get sorted.’
Her comment drew hundreds of supportive responses, including from the original complaining customer – who was eventually put on an alternative flight.
‘This is heartbreaking all around. My heart goes out to you,’ they wrote.
Rex Airlines flight attendant Layla Rackley (pictured) issued a heartbreaking response to a customer left frustrated by the collapse of the company
Ms Rackley (pictured with other Rex flight attendants) said she was ‘so grateful’ for her experience with Rex Airlines
Ms Rackley went on to share a series of photos showing her time working for Rex Airlines alongside a heartfelt thankyou to her former colleagues.
‘Two years ago I left everything I knew to move to Sydney and start my dream job as a flight attendant,’ she said.
‘I am so grateful for the friends who are now family and for all the experiences I have been given to shape me into the person I am today.
‘Rex will always hold a special place in my heart. Absolutely heartbroken but we will get through this together.’
Her comments came just before administrators informed hundreds of employees that they are unlikely to receive their wages or redundancy payouts for several months.
At a meeting with employees, EY administrator Justin Walsh announced that the airline would be unable to pay wages or redundancy packages for months, as 350 workers were immediately stood down.
‘The business, to be very frank, is simply not viable, and administrators, after working very hard, have formed the view that [Rex Airlines] is not in a position to pay the wages of its employees moving forward,’ administrator Justin Walsh said at a meeting with employees, the ABC reports.
‘Put simply, I guess the company is unable to meet the costs that it will need to incur to keep operating.
‘With the business not operating and unlikely, almost certainly, not able to recommence operations in the future, it’s unfortunately the administrators view that the position of each of the staff of the company on this call needs to become redundant.
‘The simple fact that I have access to insufficient funds to pay your wages, leaves the administrators with no choice but to conduct that consultation process over a very short period.’
Rex Airlines will lay off 360 employees, and an additional 250 workers will be affected in its Regional Express division, which handles flights in regional and rural Australia.
Transport Minister Catherine King has pledged to work closely with administrators to ensure the airline maintains its flights outside capital cities, describing it as vital to many regional communities.
Ms Rackley (pictured with a colleague) highlighted how she and other Rex employees had suddenly lost their jobs
Regional flights have continued to run after the EY appointment, while rival airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas have chipped in to help customers booked on capital-city routes onto alternate flights.
The administrators on Wednesday said they were confident the airline’s status as a key regional carrier would continue, while also indicating Virgin had expressed an interest in taking on a number of Rex’s grounded Boeing 737s from axed major routes.
Ms King did not rule out the possibility of a government bailout when quizzed on the prospect, although she said no figures had been discussed about the levels of federal funding that could be involved in an aid package.
‘The first thing we are interested in doing is hearing from the administrators about what is needed in order to make sure the regional aviation Rex is providing continues,’ she said.
‘The government will act expeditiously … it is a complex situation with multiple commercial arrangements in place, but we do stand ready to work very closely with the administrators, because that regional presence is absolutely vital.’
Rex Airlines has entered voluntary administration and suspended all flights between major airports
The TWU has called for the federal government to buy an equity stake in Rex to minimise job losses and protect regional Australia.
‘This is another dark day for aviation, with over 600 families faced with sudden joblessness in an industry that has taken hit after hit,’ TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said.
‘The focus now must be on maximising jobs, protecting regional routes, securing redeployment opportunities to other aviation businesses and ensuring entitlements are paid as soon as possible.’
It comes as aviation experts have argued that Rex’s problems stemmed from its decision to fight for capital city passengers in the major city routes.
The airline sought to compete with Qantas and Virgin in the so-called ‘golden triangle’ of flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Rob Nicholls, associate professor and policy expert at the University of Sydney, told SBS News the challenge Rex created for itself was to compete directly with Qantas and Virgin on city routes, when it was established initially to only fly regionally.
‘You’ve got one major airline, one challenger airline that is strong and well funded and it’s just hard for a third player to compete directly when there’s a limited number of people who want to fly between places,’ he said.
Prof Nicholls said Rex found it harder to be agile on pricing in its new market.
‘Rex had a challenge in being the new entrant on those routes and with a high cost base,’ he explained.
‘We’ve already seen Bonza [collapse], its major issue was that the cost of leasing aircrafts was very high and it’s precisely the same aircraft or aircraft type that Rex has leased for those big city routes.’