Rex exits Ballina and KI

REGIONAL Express (Rex) has announced it is removing its Sydney to Ballina, and Adelaide to Kangaroo Island (KI) services in the coming weeks, due to a “sharp downturn in the last six months and poor economic outlook for the next 12 months”.

The airline, which has serviced both locations for decades, claims the negative growth is directly linked to Qantas’ decision to commence services to Kangaroo Island in Dec 2017, which Rex said brought the total capacity between Dec and Feb 24,700 seats to service only 13,000 pax.

Qantas’ Jan 17 announcement to mount additional services on the Sydney to Ballina route from 29 Mar (TD 17 Jan) also came under fire by the regional airline.

“It is obvious that the excessive additional capacity introduced by Qantas on these routes kills the ability for Rex to offer a sustainable alternative to the Qantas model for regional communities and increases Qantas’ market power,” Rex said in a statement.

The regional carrier has launched an official complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), suggesting that the “direct impact of this conduct is to force out the smaller competitor and substantially lessen competition in the long term”.

Qantas has responded to the statement, with a spokesperson telling TD the complaint was a “sad state of affairs.

“Rex has a track record for throwing tantrums when things aren’t going according to their plan...we have a long history of serving regional Aus and we’ll continue to invest in communities where there’s sustainable demand for our services.”