From ABC
Rex slams new competitor service to Merimbula - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Regional Express has hit back at claims it poached crewmembers from a competitor planning to service the New South Wales far south coast.
Free Spirit Airlines says it delayed the beginning of flights between Merimbula and Melbourne until July because a competitor has poached its operating crew.
Founder, Roman Badov, called the move "unscrupulous" and said the other airline feared competition.
A spokeswoman for Regional Express said they hadn't poached anyone.
"One of our subsidiaries, Air Link, has offered employment to a pilot who originally applied to fly for FSA but who changed his mind before commencing with FSA," she said.
"(He) approached Air Link more than three weeks ago of his own accord."
She also said it was "absurd" to think Free Spirit could pose a competitive threat to Rex.
"FSA in May ... had 56 flights scheduled which carried about 126 passengers, making an average of 2.25 passengers per scheduled flight," she said.
"Of these 56 scheduled flights, it cancelled about 28 of them.
"We advise all FSA stakeholders to draw their own conclusions from these statistics."