Rex Airlines

Rex Airlines Pty. Ltd.
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZL RXA REX
Founded11 July 2002; 22 years ago (2002-07-11)
(amalgamation)
Commenced operations2 August 2002; 22 years ago (2002-08-02)
AOC #CASA.AOC.0109
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programRex Flyer
Fleet size58[1]
Destinations56[2]
Parent companyRegional Express Holdings
HeadquartersMascot, New South Wales, Australia
Key peopleNeville Howell (CEO)[3]
Websitewww.rex.com.au

Rex Airlines Pty Ltd is an Australian regional airline based in Mascot, New South Wales. It operates scheduled regional services using turboprop aircraft. Between 2021 and 2024, Rex also operated jet services between selected major Australian cities. In July 2024, it was placed into voluntary administration.

It is the primary subsidiary of Regional Express Holdings, itself predominantly foreign-owned by Singaporean businessman Lim Kim Hai and Hong Kong investment firm PAG.[4] Rex is Australia's second-largest regional airline by number of regional destinations, serving 45 regional destinations, behind QantasLink, who serve 55 regional destinations across Australia.[5][6]

On the night of 30 July 2024, the airline ceased all bookings for domestic jet service routes to capital cities and fell into voluntary administration, appointing joint administrators from Ernst & Young. It came one day after Rex stopped trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), amid fears the airline could halt all operations. Rex continues to operate some regional services, which are being funded by PAG Asia[7] and Queensland government[citation needed], despite its administration.

In September 2024, two months after the commencement of the administration, it was revealed that no buyer is currently found, and it is likely that Rex will be broken up and sold or placed into liquidation or receivership.[8][9] It did, however, previously get an extension from the Federal Court of Australia to further facilitate the sale process.[10]

  1. ^ "Rex Airlines Fleet Details and History". Retrieved 31 July 2024 – via planespotters.net.
  2. ^ "Rex - Regional Express on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Organisation Structure". rex.com.au. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  4. ^ "The Saviour From Singapore: Rex" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Australian Domestic Flight Network: Qantas".
  6. ^ A 'regional' airport in Australia is broadly defined as every commercial airport that is not in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth or Sydney.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference gntee2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "No buyers for Rex's regional airline two months into voluntary administration process". The Australian Business Review. 30 August 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference no2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference ext was invoked but never defined (see the help page).