‘They probably don’t care about us’: Passengers react to Qantas decision

It was an early start for passengers catching the 6.45am Qantas flight from Wagga to Melbourne on Friday - and it was one of their last chances to get a direct flight to the city.

It was an early start for passengers catching the 6.45am flight from Wagga to Melbourne on Friday - and it was one of their last chances to get a direct flight to the city.

This week Qantas announced it would suspend all direct flights between Wagga and Melbourne from August 1, 2022 to March 2023, citing a “temporary change in aircraft availability”.

Passengers loyal to the national airline can opt to travel from Wagga to Melbourne via Sydney, while Regional Express Airlines will continue to offer direct flights between the two cities.

One passenger, Jesse Cullen, flew from Perth to Melbourne to Wagga to visit family - which she said was quicker than flying to the regional city via Sydney.

“My sister lives here and we will be making trips to Wagga more in the future,” she said.

“I am okay flying with Rex but the problem is the fares may go up because of lack of competition, which will make it harder to get across from Perth.

The 6.45am flight from Wagga to Melbourne on Friday morning. Picture: Patrick Morrow

“I normally go with the cheaper option and go with a flight which has the best time so it is going to be harder to make that work with less available flights.”

Ms Cullen said taxpayers had bailed out Qantas during the pandemic to the tune of $2 billion, so it was “disappointing” to see the national carrier now suspend services.

“We bail out Qantas multiple times, why should we put up with this now,” she said.

Wagga resident Anthony Paul said he prefers to use Rex Airlines for his trips to Melbourne.

“I try to support Rex anyway, we don’t think Qantas really cares and I don’t think they have good intentions for Wagga anyway,” he said.

“Hopefully Rex will do the right thing by all of us and keep prices down so we can keep helping the local airline out in the future.”

Passengers board a Rex flight to Melbourne. Picture: Patrick Morrow

Currently Qantas operates three return services per week from Wagga to Melbourne, but these will be suspended next month.

A QantasLink spokeswoman said customers with bookings impacted by the suspension were being contacted and provided with a number of options, including a flight credit or a refund.

“Qantas will continue to operate its direct flights from Wagga to Sydney and Brisbane,” she said.