Rex plots path back to profit as airlines ride out COVID turbulence

Regional Express has announced its domestic operations were profitable in September, becoming the latest airline to plot a path back to profitability after the aviation sector was grounded by COVID-19. All three of Australia’s airlines have made optimistic declarations over the past fortnight despite a bleak broader economic outlook marred by high inflation, rising interest rates and the soaring cost of jet fuel. Their optimism has been largely fuelled by strong consumer demand, as Australians continue to pay top dollar for flights. Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai said it was “truly unprecedented” to turn a profit so soon after the restart of operations and said the carrier was “actively looking” for another two Boeing 737-800 aircraft to expand its domestic routes. Rex announced it would expand its operations to domestic services between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in November 2021, but says its growth was largely hampered by COVID-19 lockdowns until February of this year. “True to form, our domestic jet network passenger numbers for the first three months of this financial year grew by 60 per cent, 34% and 77% respectively when compared to June 2022,” Lim said, adding the airline’s revenue growth also suggested significant yield improvements, growing 84%, 47% and 137% over the same three months. Rex operates a fleet of 61 SAAB 340s and 7 Boeing 737-800s to 58 destinations across Australia. Last month, Rex became a 50% shareholder of charter and freight operator National Jet Express following its $48m purchase of fellow fly-in, fly-out service Cobham in July.<br/>