Rex to fly between Australian capital cities

[jb747]

Arrived at Mascot to find all SYD-MEL direct cancelled. Rerouted through ABX on the Saab with a 3 1\2 hour connection. Biscuit was nice.

You'd be doing well to get into Albury given the current weather, and lack of nav aids.

 

[Must...Fly!]

You'd be doing well to get into Albury given the current weather, and lack of nav aids.

Re-routed to the XPT to Albury followed by V/Line to Melbourne, then

Remember, "our heart is in the country"

 

[jb747]

Looking forward to seeing the 737 operating Albury to Melbourne......

 

[NSun]

I have. And a friend has too.

I booked a trip too, SYD-MEL one way on the first weekend of service. Am looking forward to it.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Looking forward to seeing the 737 operating Albury to Melbourne......

If Qantas mainline can't sustain daily double digit services between Sydney and Melbourne, I have no idea at all how Rex is going to manage. How deep are the pockets to sustain losses? I'm guessing the leases are dirt cheap.

 

[AIRwin]

Less than 4 weeks to the launch! But I noticed RQC has operated a number of domestic flights in the last few days?

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[Mattg]

Less than 4 weeks to the launch! But I noticed RQC has operated a number of domestic flights in the last few days?

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Training flights, according to Melborne Airport.

https://www.facebook.com/MelbourneInternationalAirport/posts/4296572117036383

 

[AIRwin]

Training flights, according to Melborne Airport.

It even operated to ADL and CBR...

 

[NSun]

Has anyone else got a text from Rex today about upcoming flights? I've got a flight booked on March 6 and just got a message saying there had a schedule change for my flight and left me with a phone number to call. Tried to view my booking online but couldn't - I entered my details and the page didn't load and I haven't (yet) got an email advising me what the change is.

 

[henrus]

Has anyone else got a text from Rex today about upcoming flights? I've got a flight booked on March 6 and just got a message saying there had a schedule change for my flight and left me with a phone number to call. Tried to view my booking online but couldn't - I entered my details and the page didn't load and I haven't (yet) got an email advising me what the change is.

What direction, and original flight time/number did you book on the 6th?

By the looks of it, they've already started canceling flights in early March?

SYD - MEL some of the 8:30am, 1:30pm and 6:30pm flights have been canceled.

likewise MEL-SYD the 6am, 11am, 4pm flights have been canceled.

 

[AIRwin]

Has anyone else got a text from Rex today about upcoming flights? I've got a flight booked on March 6 and just got a message saying there had a schedule change for my flight and left me with a phone number to call. Tried to view my booking online but couldn't - I entered my details and the page didn't load and I haven't (yet) got an email advising me what the change is.

I did a dummy booking and there are now 6 flights scheduled on 6 March.

MEL-SYD
ZL018 07:00
ZL042 10:00
ZL102 12:00
ZL132 15:00
ZL152 17:00
ZL182 20:00

SYD-MEL
ZL009 07:00
ZL031 09:30
ZL105 12:30
ZL121 14:30
ZL145 17:30
ZL161 19:30

 

[NSun]

I just got an email - I originally booked at 8.30am and have now been put on a 9.30am flight

 

[AIRwin]

I just got an email - I originally booked at 8.30am and have now been put on a 9.30am flight

SYD-MEL on 6 March is $78 (and lower with a discount code) in the current VA sale...

 

[henrus]

I'm actually surprised these rex pre-launch cuts isn't bigger news. I guess hardly cares about rex or domestic travel hence there's no news about it.

 

[dajop]

I'm actually surprised these rex pre-launch cuts isn't bigger news. I guess hardly cares about rex or domestic travel hence there's no news about it.

At a time when cuts to domestic flight schedules are the rule rather than the exception, it’s hard to see it being newsworthy. Unless Rex put out a press release about the cuts blaming state premiers (not entirely out of the realm of possibilities for Rex.)

 

[Virgin Bart]

At a time when cuts to domestic flight schedules are the rule rather than the exception, it’s hard to see it being newsworthy. Unless Rex put out a press release about the cuts blaming state premiers (not entirely out of the realm of possibilities for Rex.)

Rex's media releases are very entertaining, I must say.

 

[eastwest101]

Obviously no rush to get all the frequency in the air so unsurprising. But I was thinking about what other plan B Rex would have if they are sticking with their business model of maximising inter-connectivity between their existing network and capital cities, its difficult to find an accurate route map of Rex post Covid-19 but as I saw it Rex have the following "hubs" where they already have existing Saab 340 services and infrastructure/staff, in descending order they are:

SYD: 15 destinations approx (nearly all intra-state)
BNE: 9 destinations approx (allowing for the southern half of the QLD regional network, all intra-state)
ADL: 8 destinations approx (all intra-state)
MEL: 7 detinations approx (some interstate and some intra-state)
CNS: 7 destinations approx (North and Western QLD)
TSV: 7 destinations approx (NW and Central QLD)
PER: 4 destinations approx (all intra-state)

With the 6x B738 aircraft about to be delivered - I'm wondering if less frequency MEL-SYD might be an opportunity to bring forward more SYD-BNE or even MEL-BNE, certainly pre-Covid the airline economics would have stacked up for the golden triangle as the obvious first jet destinations, but it might be border closures and different states economic recoveries that might change their plans?

They could also be just playiing their entry slow, to allow for staff hiring,training/certification etc to catch up as they have moved fairly quickly obviously to take advantage of the desperation of the aircraft leasing companies, and obviously things have probably even got worse for aircraft leasors now, compared to last year, so Rex may not feel so much of a rush to increase their B738 capacity as what they were when they started the jet expansion, especially with many state premiers all playing tic-tac-toe with peoples travel plans.

 

[jase05]

ADL: 8 destinations approx (all intra-state)

I’m not sure residents of BHQ and MQL know they have joined SA yet

 

[eastwest101]

I’m not sure residents of BHQ and MQL know they have joined SA yet

Yeah - sorry my mistake with BHQ and MQL, I think both are now operating again but MQL airport is actually in VIC so may have had issues with flights to and from ADL especially the BHQ tag flights last year, similarly with BHQ in NSW but looks like they are operating again now. If you want to give yourself a heart attack - take a look at the typical prices for flights between SYD and BHQ at the moment.

 

[Melburnian1]

Yeah - sorry my mistake with BHQ and MQL, I think both are now operating again but MQL airport is actually in VIC so may have had issues with flights to and from ADL especially the BHQ tag flights last year, similarly with BHQ in NSW but looks like they are operating again now. If you want to give yourself a heart attack - take a look at the typical prices for flights between SYD and BHQ at the moment.

I took up the challenge. On a random date, Tuesday 2 March 2021 - deliberately chosen because I guessed Monday would cost more and to ensure that one couldn't say that the booking was close to today's date when it's normal for airlines to bump up fares - the single (one way) fare was A$445.40. Monday was a heartstopping one way fare ex SYD of $698.40, while the cheapest was We/Th with each showing $406.90.

If the return economy fare was at least $813, for that price in 'normal' times one could have flown to a range of SE Asian destinations return and had money left over, and sometimes even to Japan/HKG/mainland China and perhaps Taiwan with sale fares offered by some airlines.

The only non-self driving alternative transport Sydney to Broken Hill is the NSWTrainLink XPlorer railcars once a week (out Mons, back to Sydney Tues) or the daily via Dubbo XPT train then TrainLink road coach via Cobar. No wonder the weekly train is often full!

One can also travel to Adelaide by say air and then use another NSW TrainLink road coach to Broken Hill but latter is not daily. For many months there was no surface transport that conveyed passengers between ADL and BHQ, as the private 'Indian Pacific' (cancelled at present due to border curbs) no longer has sitting cars. One can't buy a 'local' ticket on it.

Rex really knows how to play Monopoly. Once or twice recently QFd has cancelled its new flights to GFF or OAG, presumably due to lack of demand. These were previously Rex monopoly NSW intrastate routes.