Rex airlines collapse: SkyTrans could fill the void

Regional Queensland could be decimated if besieged airline Rex cannot continue operating flights – but a rival carrier could fill the void.

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There are fears regional Queensland would be decimated if besieged airline Rex could not continue operating flights connecting communities across the state – but a rival carrier could swoop in to fill the void.

While the troubled carrier’s slip into administration this week has seen the immediate suspension of Rex’s jet flights between major cities, there has been a commitment to continue operating the dozens of flights from Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns to destinations in the state’s remote western corridor.

Aviation insiders expect Rex to hold on to that niche market, particularly with the airline receiving lucrative state government incentives to maintain routes servicing communities including Roma, Charleville, Birdsville, Mount Isa and Normanton from hubs in Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns.

However, it is understood North Queensland carrier Skytrans is monitoring the situation closely and would be well-placed to take over many, if not all, of the Rex routes should the airline be unable to recover.

A Rex jet at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. Picture: Liam Kidston

Virgin, which has offered to fly passengers left in the lurch by Rex at no extra cost, has already ruled out taking over the routes.

Now owned by global investment giant ASG, Skytrans has a fleet of 13 turbo prop aircraft with capacity ranging from 10 to 50 passengers, with plans to acquire almost 20 new jets over the next five years as part of a calculated expansion push.

Skytrans bid against Rex for the rights to the lucrative regulated air routes across western Queensland when the contract was last up for renewal two years ago, but missed out.

The agreement essentially means the state government effectively underwrites the flights to regional communities so the airline does not make a loss on the journeys.

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads which oversees the contract did not respond to questions about the value of the subsidies before deadline.

Skytrans, which counted rugby league legend Johnathan Thurston as a part-owner until the airline’s sale in February, has carved out a niche servicing mining operations and remote communities in Queensland’s northern tip.

The Rex check-in station at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. Picture: Liam Kidston

Skytrans chief executive Alan Milne told The Courier-Mail the last thing he wanted to see was another airline collapse hot on the heels of Bonza’s spectacular implosion.

“We don’t want to benefit from someone else’s disadvantage,” he said.

“Do I want to see Rex disappear? No of course not.”

However, it is understood Skytrans will again bid for the routes operated by Rex when the current contract expires.

So far, most Rex routes in Queensland will remain “business as usual” with more than 40 flights scheduled to deliver travellers to next week’s Mount Isa Rodeo but Outback Queensland Tourism Association chief executive Denise Brown said it would be disastrous if Rex could not soldier on.

“From not just tourism, but from the health and community aspects it would be disastrous,” she said.

The appointment of administrators to Rex and cancellation of major city routes made for anxious times for passengers at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday.

There are also fears for hundreds of Rex workers across the country, with major job cuts expected as part of any administration restructure.