Originally Posted by
TBM-Legend
I want whatever John Sharp is smoking, must be a hell of a hallucinogenic.......
Regional Express’ ambition to challenge Virgin and Qantas in the domestic market fizzled on Tuesday when just 21 passengers travelled on its midday flight from Sydney to Melbourne and a 2:30 pm flight on the same route had only 14, according to an industry source
The low load factors are consistent with rumours heard by Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation chairman emeritus Peter Harbison, who said the up-until-now rural carrier must “pull a rabbit out of the hat” to make its ambitious entrance to the lucrative capital city market succeed for a prolonged period.
The low passenger numbers – which Rex did not dispute – raise critical questions about the continued viability of the carrier’s push into the “golden triangle” air travel corridor up and down the east coast earlier this month.
Deputy chairman John Sharp claimed load factors on Sydney-Melbourne flights were better than expected and sustainable for the airline. He accused rivals of embedding staff on these trips to identify the number of passengers.
“We have noted many Qantas employees that are regular passengers on our flights. They are there to present the worst case picture and they wouldn’t be telling anyone about our flights that are full,” he said.
Qantas declined to comment.