Summary
- Business class on Rex offers superior value for money with a superior product at significantly lower prices.
- The passenger profile in domestic business class is changing, with more leisure travelers opting for comfortable seats at a lower cost on Rex.
- Rex’s business class service on its 737s is marked by its attentive crew, elegant feel, and a more affordable price point.
Now that Bonza’s planes have been deported, Australia’s domestic airline market is down to four main players, and only three of them, Qantas, Rex and Virgin Australia, have business class on their domestic flights. While the aircraft, cabins, seats and catering are pretty much identical, there is a clear winner in the value-for-money category, and that’s Rex.
Passenger profiles are changing
Based on my travel in Australia, the profile of domestic business class passengers has changed markedly in the post-COVID era. Cabins that were once the preserve of suited business travelers have morphed into a mixed bunch of customers, including leisure travelers and older passengers who may well have retired from the nine-to-five grind but like the extra comfort up the pointy end.
Photo: Michael Doran I Simple Flying
That means more people are paying for their own tickets, and the exorbitantly high business class fares on Qantas and Virgin Australia have pushed most corporate guests into economy seats. While Zoom has not entirely done away with interstate travel, the general awareness of the need to travel that emerged during the pandemic has also changed the cross-section of people in those roomier seats.
When I write about new routes or services, I check the prices, and I am genuinely amazed at how much cheaper a business class seat is on a Rex 737 than on the same aircraft operated by Qantas and Virgin Australia. It made me wonder if Rex was somehow cutting corners, dropping meal quality or service standards to match the lower cost, so I went on a flight to find out.
Why pay double for the same seat?
I recently traveled in business class from Adelaide to Melbourne on a Rex early evening flight, and while that is a sample size of one flight, I have experienced the premium cabin on all three airlines numerous times. In simple terms, the business class experience on Rex loses nothing compared to its rivals, and in some key areas, it is superior and, in my experience, more consistent compared to Qantas or Virgin Australia.
Photo: Michael Doran I Simple Flying
The starkest comparison is the price, and based on each airline’s website this week, that gap is remarkable. For a Monday evening flight leaving Adelaide around 17:30 to fly business class nonstop to Melbourne, the Qantas one-way fare is AU$892 ($589), Virgin Australia AU$719 ($475) and Rex $369 ($244).
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If I had booked these tickets this week, the return business class fares would have been AU$1,784 ($1178) on Qantas, AU$1,438 ($950) on Virgin Australia and AU$738 ($488) on Rex. These flights are on similar-age Boeing 737-800s, with some of the Rex aircraft previously operated by Virgin Australia, so there are no discernable differences in the cabin ambiance, seat comfort, or configuration to justify the price differentials.
Photo: Rex
The business class cabin is configured in a 2-2 layout of eight seats. After enjoying drinks and snacks in the Rex Lounge, I boarded through the Priority Lane and was seated in a matter of minutes after leaving the lounge. The large business class seats on these 737s are akin to a comfy leather armchair, and with just eight passengers in business class, finding room for carry-on is a breeze.
Passengers boarded through the front and rear doors, and despite being a busy flight, the process was smooth and handled efficiently and courteously by the Rex crew. On May 27, Rex flight ZL466 departed from Adelaide Airport (ADL) at 17:38 and took one hour to reach Melbourne Airport at 19:08. The operating aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, registration VH-REX and MSN 36609, one of nine 737s in the Rex domestic fleet.
Effortless elegance on show
With a short flight time, the Rex crew went straight into service mode, offering a pre-dinner drink from a choice of three premium Australian wines. The dinner choices were between Rex’s own signature Croque Monsieur with ham, gruyere cheese and mustard-flavored bechamel sauce or a lighter Vegetable Mezza plate including Labneh cheese, baba ganoush, tabouli and gluten-free chickpea falafels.
Photo: Michael Doran I Simple Flying
The eco-friendly serving also featured a Raspberry Friand and a warm bread roll, followed by tea or coffee as the plane descended into Melbourne Airport, where it landed twelve minutes early. Rex has a free onboard entertainment system that is simple to connect with and has around 50 movies and TV shows, with plenty of child-friendly content available.
There is also internet connectivity available, which is free for business class passengers and costs other passengers between AU$6.50 and AU$9.99 ($4.30-$6.60), depending on the package they purchase. My connection worked perfectly from start to finish and was strong enough to stream content, including connecting to Simple Flying to catch up on some work.
Photo: Rex
The aircraft was spotlessly clean, and the cabin crew were attentive, very smartly turned out and keen to engage with passengers throughout the aircraft. There is an effortless elegance about the Rex cabin crew that reminds me of earlier times when flying seemed to have a lot more style than it does today, and it fits nicely with Rex’s passion for country hospitality.
The Verdict
Rex now has its own loyalty system, Rex Flyer, up and running and is refurbishing or establishing lounges at its main domestic hubs. Leaving aside the massive price differential, the business class experience on a Rex 737 is totally comparable to that of a Qantas or Virgin 737, and in my experience, the service and comfortable environment on a Rex flight are far superior to other carriers.
Photo: Michael Doran I Simple Flying
While prices change from time to time, it is fair to say that a Rex business class flight is usually around half the cost of its two competitors for a better service. Overlaid on that, Rex has been Australia’s most reliable domestic airline for more than a year, with the nation’s lowest cancelation rate of all domestic carriers.
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Rex Flyers Can Now Book Flights With Points
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Australians love accruing frequent flyer points and are fully invested in the points they have in their Qantas or Virgin Velocity accounts, which makes them reluctant to try another airline. As already pointed out, a couple traveling in business class from Adelaide to Melbourne return with Rex will save more than AU$2,000 ($1,320) compared to Qantas to sit in the same seat on the same airplane.
Maybe it’s time to reassess the value of frequent flyer points when savings like this are available; after all, with the savings from just this one Rex flight, you could buy that new TV or fly to Sydney.
Have you traveled in business class with Rex? Let us know about it in the comments.