Rex cuts Mildura - Sydney route

REX - Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga) has announced it would terminate its Mildura-Sydney Kingsford Smith route on October 27, 2018, after the airport decided to steeply increase its passenger fees.

"This increase is a blatant money grab and in breach of on-going commercial agreements. At the recent Board meeting, the Rex board directed an exit of the Mildura to Sydney route and to undertake a further review of the Mildura to Adelaide route at the next board meeting in late November 2018," General Manager (Network Strategy and Sales) Warrick Lodge said.

The airport in northern Victoria announced earlier that it would increase its passenger fees by 22.5%. After an initial outrage by the airlines, Mildura decided to drop the hike for all routes except for Melbourne Tullamarine, where fees are due to increase by 13.7%.

REX said it would redeploy the aircraft and slots at Sydney airport to the Sydney-Griffith route, where it has an amicable relationship with the local authorities. The carrier also said that it was no longer prepared to provide services which make no commercial sense.

"The REX board has directed management to prioritise its scarce pilot resources to routes where the regional airport does not abuse its monopolistic position by treating the airport as a cash cow to finance inefficiencies elsewhere. For routes where the airport owner is abusing its monopolistic power, REX will no longer be adopting a holistic approach in providing services to the route. For these routes, REX will adopt a wholly commercial approach and part or all of its services will be reallocated if there is another more profitable option," Lodge said.

The regional specialist is the main operator at Mildura. According to the ch-aviation capacity module, it currently operates 41 weekly departures, including 18 to Melbourne, 11 to Broken Hill, and six each to Sydney and Adelaide. The route to Melbourne is also served by Qantas and Virgin Australia International.

13.7% increase in landing fees

Hope Wagga Wagga Council feel the pain for their blatant greed, and the decision makers also.

Where's that big boot smilie when you need it?

We should all email the Board of REX and give them a hearty cheer and loud "Well Done!"

Some big Discount Airlines in Europe would not go to places where the Locals hadn't provided ALL the resources needed so it's always a tug of war and sometimes a bit of bluff. The fact is Planes cost a lot to operate and you can't provide a service for long at a a loss. If a shortage of crew or some other such reason was involved It gets more complicated. Feeder services (inevitably turbo prop) are never going to get the seat Km figure close to say a 150 seat fan jet on a longer sector, so the Pax think they are getting ripped off compared to main trunk routes, when they are not. Nev

Unfortunately it's the locals that suffer from the council's adoption of some consultants grand plan.

Remote and regional areas will always cost more to get products and services to. That's just a logistical reality. The dreaded subsidy was always used in the past and it worked.. Connellan flew more route miles than BEA. (British European Airways) Nev