Regular comments:
”get some Dash 8 -300’s!!”
Good luck finding 20-50 of these in good working order. “But QF!” They’re getting rid of theirs for the same reason they wouldn’t work for a reborn Rex, spare parts are becoming incredibly difficult to source for the classic Dash 8’s.
PLUS: 50 seats requires security. The Saab does NOT. The extra $20-$50 per person WILL make a difference to demand. Then how viable are the routes?
”no government should be in business”
I tend to agree with this, however…. Particularly in QLD and WA, the government is already in business by providing a fixed contract and most of the passengers on the regulated routes. They ARE the customer. So if an equity position was taken in Rex 2.0, some consolidation and fleet renewal takes place, the CUSTOMER (government) gets a better service and a viable company they can sell at the end. Aka Air NZ…
”let them collapse, someone else will step in”
It’s taken Rex 20 years to get to the point of dominating regional services QF won’t do. Airnorth is the only regional carrier left they haven’t beaten. O’Connor, Skytrans 1.0, Macair, Brindabella, Aero Pelican, Air South, Emu Airways, just to name a few off the top of my head. Have all gone down the tube resulting in disruption for the communities they served. Someone else will step in, but we will have 5+ years of disruption to these towns that rely on Rex services. OR the government buys Rex, consolidates the important routes (Eg no other provider) and then sells it to someone else. OR they let the various contracted routes go (QLD/WA) to new commercial operators as future tenders come due thereby ensuring continued service to remote communities (let Rex slowly shrink).