Rex launches Sydney-Canberra Saab 340 flights [now axed]

[The Flying Brick]

Interesting them saying they plan to open a lounge in Canberra.

Probably another tin shed like the one in Melbourne

 

[The Flying Brick]

I find the press release interesting.


There are clearly no published Y fares anywhere near $1,000 meaning Rex is comparing QFs 717 J product to its Saab 340 Y seats?

And haven't most of us been ripped off by these masters of price gouging on their monopoly routes in the past (and in the present)?

Rex like to point the finger but squeal like a stuck pig whenever a competitor dares enter 'their' territory.

Besides that who really wants to go to Canberra in a flying pencil !

 

[Mattg]

Probably another tin shed like the one in Melbourne

Maybe using the old VA "The Club" space?

 

[eastwest101]

And haven't most of us been ripped off by these masters of price gouging on their monopoly routes in the past (and in the present)?

Rex like to point the finger but squeal like a stuck pig whenever a competitor dares enter 'their' territory.

Besides that who really wants to go to Canberra in a flying pencil !

This is the flying pencil (not operated by Rex anymore):



And this is the relatively 'spacious' Saab 340B:

 

[AIRwin]

Bookings are now open with 6 daily flights scheduled from Monday to Thursday in the first week, 7 on Friday, 5 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday (ANZAC Day)...

 

[Mattg]

The new Rex flights are being promoted at CBR.

 

[AIRwin]

View attachment 243564

Was QF's BNE flight on a Friday evening cancelled due to the latest case?

 

[Mattg]

Was QF's BNE flight on a Friday evening cancelled due to the latest case?

No, it was cancelled because the inbound 717 from HBA arrived in CBR 3 hours late last night.

 

[Mattg]

I need to travel from SYD to CBR on Thursday. The cheapest Qantas flight is $284 and the trains are sold out (except at 7am, which isn't suitable).

I can't believe I'm saying this, but bring on Rex and its $99 fares!

 

[kookaburra75]

I need to travel from SYD to CBR on Thursday. The cheapest Qantas flight is $284 and the trains are sold out (except at 7am, which isn't suitable).

I can't believe I'm seeing this, but bring on Rex and its $99 fares!

Murrays it is then... $49 Flex Fare, leaving on the hour

 

[Mattg]

Murrays it is then... $49 Flex Fare, leaving on the hour

I'm looking at every possible option to avoid that

So far I've considered flying SYD-OOL-CBR and taking a suburban train to Moss Vale to pick up the Canberra Xplorer train from there, since seats are available from stations after Mittagong.

 

[SeaWolf]

Are the Murrays buses really that dire? I'd heard they were quite decent really.

 

[wendlle]

Are the Murrays buses really that dire? I'd heard they were quite decent really.

the bus is fine, It's the "clientele" that's the issue

 

[Mattg]

the bus is fine, It's the "clientele" that's the issue

Yeah, especially since Murray's also now says "we do not guarantee you'll get an empty seat next to you". Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence when we're still in a pandemic. (I realise you might also have to sit next to someone on a plane, but that trip is only ~50 minutes and everyone needs to wear a mask.)

On the train, at least you get a guaranteed two seats to yourself and the journey is reasonably comfortable.

 

[kookaburra75]

Yeah, especially since Murray's also now says "we do not guarantee you'll get an empty seat next to you". Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence when we're still in a pandemic. (I realise you might also have to sit next to someone on a plane, but that trip is only ~50 minutes and everyone needs to wear a mask.)

On the train, at least you get a guaranteed two seats to yourself and the journey is reasonably comfortable.

You can book a companion seat, so you have two to yourself. $69 flex all up. No excuses now It's not that bad, plus pretty quick to Sydney

 

[Must...Fly!]

the bus is fine, It's the "clientele" that's the issue

It's not really any different to any other form of public transport. Could happen on the aircraft quite easily...

 

[Scarlett]

So for those with the requisite experience, rank the following from 'most likely to travel' to least likely:

JQ - any Aus airport to DPS or vv
Ryanair - any 3hr intra-Europe flight
Murrays Bus - SYD to CBR or vv
Spirit Airlines - any 3hr domestic US sector

 

[justcallmeryan]

As a weekly traveler between SYD - CBR I am looking forward to trying our Rex for the first time in a couple of weeks (booked today). At half the price of similar flying times on QF it's a no-brainer, at least for now. Will be sure to revert back with feedback - it'll be the first time I've flown with no lounge access or priority status in years!

 

[AIRwin]

Media release on the launch:

https://rex.com.au/BlobViewer/BlobViewer.aspx?attachtype=MR&filename=4E464F654845676F39306834377333414C62372B78557346494F5A3147795532466C792F6A79676E515049674E7631752B4534444146394A4A59783368624A5A35784A796E77504337694330357864524C53627977673D3D

 

[henrus]

Media release on the launch:

A couple of things caught my eye from that release:

The launch today of flights between Sydney and Canberra will provide a direct annual economic boost of nearly $200 million to the national capital, according to data analysis by respected public policy evaluation and consultancy firm, Urbis*.

*Urbis worked on Canberra Airport’s 2020 Master Plan providing analysis of the economic benefits of the Airport to the region over the next 20 years.

Firstly it'd be interesting to know what went into that $200m figure. $200m / 160k seats = $1250 input into the economy per seat which does seem like a lot for a brand new route of just 236km's.

Having a look at the master plan the airport apparently contributes a total of $5b to the GRP. Rex's new route seems quite impressive to be able to come in and pick up ~4% of that.

Using the 20th of May 2021 as an example, there are 5590 seats out of Canberra that day and 252 of them are operated by Rex meaning they'll operate ~4.5% of the seats that day.

Both 4% and 4.5% are rather close and if that's how they ended up with the ~$200m figure?

The flights, which represent an extra 160,000 seats a year, will grow the total market by stimulating new leisure and tourism traffic while also sparking a surge in travellers visiting friends and families.

I find this interesting that they think that many seats will "grow" the market. 160,000 seats per year works out at ~438 per day or 219 in each direction or as above ~4.5% of seats out of Canberra per day. Qantas sometimes flies 737's on the SYD-CBR route that has 178 seats. If Qantas was to schedule a single extra 737 flight per day in each direction that would be 129,940 seats per year which isn't too far off what rex will be adding.

“Rex’s entry to the Canberra airline market will add 300 jobs here and it will generate economic activity of nearly $200 million just because our competitive pricing will put a stop to Qantas’s gouging of passengers with very high prices". Quote from Dep chariman John Sharp.

I wonder what it actually costs Qantas and Rex per seat on these SYD-CBR flights, I'd argue it almost seems as if rex is gouging given they're somehow able to operate MEL-OOL a ~2hr 1238km flight for $65 but the 50 minute 236km flight costs $99. One would think because it's being operated by a prop plane it'd be cheaper to operate as well.