Rex buying 25 new A/C ????

[Buy Carumba]

Ch9 Nightline report Tonight saying Rex buying 25 newbies!!
How where when why??? Anyone know the story???

[bne019]

Rex to Acquire 25 Latest Generation Saab 340B plus Aircraft

Regional Express (Rex), the largest independent regional airline in Australia, will embark on a massive fleet modernisation and expansion programme involving the long term lease of 25 advanced 34 seat Saab 340B plus aircraft which will be supplied by Saab Aircraft Leasing over the next three years.
Full Article and Details: http://www.rex.com.au/corp_info/ShowNews.aspx?nid=97

After this addition, will REX's fleet come close or even surpass DJ's?

Well done REX - Good news for all Staff and Customers - Be nice to see you in QLD now!

[tlf]

I thought the Saab 340 went out of production many years ago, so they're hardly going to be "new" aircraft.

[sprucegoose]

After this addition, will REX's fleet come close or even surpass DJ's?


Ummmmm even if Rex had 60 or 70 SF340B's I'd hardly call that a surpassing of DJ's fleet.

[apacau]

Whilst some will no doubt be additional frames, one would suspect many will simply be replacing the existing Saab 340As and some of the existing Bs.

Anyone know the net fleet increase after this deal?

[bushy]

Sounds like avoiding maintenance- Just like GA.

[podbreak]

I thought the Saab 340 went out of production many years ago, so they're hardly going to be "new" aircraft.

They are out of production. These "plus" aircraft as I understand it are just updated 340Bs with low airframe time. I'd suggest that most if not all will be coming from the states, where there is a surplus of unused turboprops that SAAB could buy back to lease.

[Anti Skid On]

So Aussie domestic carriers are buying old Saab's just as Air nelson are ditching them across the tasman and buying new Q300's?

PS, Can't moan, I own two Saab's, one normally aspirated the other a 200bhp turbo....

[iceblock]

I thought the Saab 340 went out of production many years ago, so they're hardly going to be "new" aircraft.

You thought correct, they are out of production.

PS: I bought a new house the other day. Actually it was new for me, but it was actually built in 1980, so it is actually old. I now tell people I have bought an old house. They enquire about the age and I tell them it was built in 1980. They then respond that that isn't old at all. I then respond that it is a new house I bought. They look confused and ask if I bought two houses, one new and one old. I try to explain that I just bought one old new house. They just don't get it!

[blueloo]

ha ha! :D ......

[Toluene Diisocyanate]

AntiSkid owns 2 SAABS. The Swedish Fiat :8 You must have plenty of dough to keep 'em on the road, mate:ok: :}

[Ninjaboy]

Its better than what Eastern is doing.They are now keeping two of their old 100 series which were to be phased out two months ago.:( Go for it REX good to see you guys expanding.:ok:

[nomorecatering]

Could this be the forunner to a merger, acquisition of ******. 25 airframes seems to be an awful lot of airframes, considering only a handful of their fleet are A models.

A marcair/Rex joint venture would be a formidable competitor. 80 aircraft fleet would bring enormous ecconomies of scale and would surely scare the pants of Eastern, even Qantas/Virgin.

From there, it would only be a simple matter(reklativey speaking) to upgrade to a High Capacity AOC and lease a dozen or so 737's to link up the capital city hubs, ie., Adeaide, Melbourne,Sydney, Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns.

This scenario is emminently feasuble as the fixed costs are already paid for and it would nly be the marginal cost of the aircraft, crew and fuel etc.

Before anyone attacks me, the market is still growing at around 5% year on year, additionally there is a huge on-carriage from Rex to other airlines and vica versa. Trunk routes would simply keep their existing pax on their own trunk flight raher than interlining to Virgin/Qantas.eg pax going Orange to Brisbane curently flies rex to Sydney then transfers to Virgin/Qantas.

Going to be very interesting times ahead.

[Wingspar]

How about ol' Skywest!
East meets West might be the ultimate game plan for our Singapore friends.
Facilities and slots already there, then get a few narrow bodies like maybe the A320 ;) and Wham Bam you have a national airline with regional feed!:D
Oh, and International feed from guess who?

[OhForSure]

HaHa... well said Iceblock!


You last two aren't related to the Townsville refueler are you??? :}

You'd have to suppose that something is in the winds... 25 "new" aircraft is quite a sizeable increase... perhaps Rex will go into QLD alone? Or on the other hand perhaps they are going to return 25 A & B model aircraft to lessors, in order to take advantage of more competitive lease rates available on these surplus models???

At any rate it's good to see an underdog performing so admirably. :ok:

[podbreak]

Ahh yes the old rex-ma*air marriage rumour rears its ugly head once again. Last I heard it was flatly denied by both parties, but then again why would they tell the public until it IS public. 25 more 340s are probably 20 too many for m*cair's route structure, even with the metro replacement. Where would the rest of the aircraft go?

[dodoflies]

Any idea why no ATR`s in Australia?The ATR72-500 carries 72 pax burning 1.0 Ton of fuel on a 01:20 mins leg flight time in ISA+15 conditions. It has had a huge success worldwide.
Air New Zealand is a major customer and lately Air Pacific which bought two second-hand ATR42-500 series from Air Mauritius.
With soaring fuel prices,it will nice to compare that with the ducky Dash-8 Q400 series???
We know ATR is french,but at the end of the day its those extra dollars you scrape to save that make the shareholders happy!!!:D

[Woomera]

ATR42 tried and failed over 20 years ago. Air Queensland. No APU was one factor.

[podbreak]

dodflies,
Q400 is far supeiror in conditions prominent in most regional airfields Australia wide. ATR72 has proven successful in Europe but the operating conditions are a stark contrast. The 42 has been pushed with a few northern operators, but it isn't as flexible (not to mention maintenance costs) as some other rivals. Theres also been a surplus of bras' and saabs in the states with the industry down-turn in the past few years which dramatically reduced aquisition costs. But I wouldn't rule them out, theres now a 328 operator in Oz, so why not eh? :ok:

[Meeb]

the long term lease of 25 advanced 34 seat Saab 340B

I can think of many things to call a Saab 340... advanced ain't one of them though.... :oh:

ATR42 tried and failed over 20 years ago. Air Queensland. No APU was one factor.

Yes it does have an APU, its called the Number 2 engine... ;)

[chief wiggum]

I can think of many things to call a Saab 340... advanced ain't one of them though....

why ? just because it isn't brand new ?

[grrowler]

And the Saab does have an APU??:confused:

[Deejay 1]

And the Saab does have an APU??:confused:
Which of the 340's can operate via ground power?

I agree that there is no APU. Would Rex shell out big bickies to supply gnd pwr at say Coober Pedy or Ceduna or just keep it at the capitals, a thought which was given high level consideration back in the Kendell days, especially in Adelaide summers and Canberra winters.

Rock On!

[FrankAlbert]

[quote=Meeb;2882807]I can think of many things to call a Saab 340... advanced ain't one of them though.... :oh:

Please elaborate?

I hardly think that a regional airliner really needs BS like an APU - much rather it needs to be efficient and ergonomically designed - unlike some of it's rivals.

[Meeb]

much rather it needs to be efficient and ergonomically designed - unlike some of it's rivals.

Which rivals are those then?

Efficiency can be counted in many ways, mainly price and these Saabs are very cheap, tells you something eh...?

As for 'ergonomically designed', have you ever travelled on one as pax? If you had you would not be saying that....:p

Maybe the -8 is more expensive, but its a superior product by a country mile...

[FrankAlbert]

How would it be superior - STOL capability? and...

maybe its the extra 40% fuel it uses to do the same job at the same speed :confused:

[Anti Skid On]

AntiSkid owns 2 SAABS. The Swedish Fiat :8 You must have plenty of dough to keep 'em on the road, mate:ok: :}

Never let me down yet, reliable as. and the turbo one pisses on any BMW or Holden in terms of handling, acceleration and style. Don't know what you mean by the Fiat bit? You don't see rusty Saab's.

[Led Zep]

Never let me down yet, reliable as. and the turbo one pisses on any BMW or Holden in terms of handling, acceleration and style.

I'm sure they do. :}:}:}:E

Apologies for me about to send this thread over West for a second, but I hear the blue and yellow mob's "new" Dash 300s do not have an APU either!

Now surely both REX and the blue and yellow mob would know the value of an APU, not too many minesites out here have ground power, but their are a few exceptions, and listening to what's being said here it seems it is true with some of the strips REX flys into.

[Ozgrade3]

Why would Rex need a GPU anyway, they leavit up to the contractors at out ports to buy so the expendiature is off their balance sheet.

Besides,allways lots of 2nd hand Hobart GPU's for sale in aviation trader for around 10 grand.

[Shapeshifter]

Meeb says;

I can think of many things to call a Saab 340... advanced ain't one of them though....

Efficiency can be counted in many ways, mainly price and these Saabs are very cheap, tells you something eh...?

As for 'ergonomically designed', have you ever travelled on one as pax? If you had you would not be saying that...

With a fleet of 30 inferior, uneconomic and uncomfortable Saab 340 aircraft, how an earth do REX achieve;


Rex Group Profits Leap 140%
Friday, 15 September 2006

On 13 September, Regional Express Holdings Limited (Rex) announced the Group's results for the full Financial Year to 30 June 2006. The highlights of which are outlined below:

Revenue increased by 20% to $174 million

Passenger numbers increased by 15% to 1.2 million

Profit after tax increased by 141% to $15.7 million

Cash holdings increased from $4 million to $23 million without any interest-bearing debt

Returns on assets of 15.7%

Rex Group Profits Leap 140% (http://www.regionalexpress.com.au/corp_info/ShowNews.aspx?nid=94&page=MC)


:confused: :confused:

[Captahab]

Shapeshifter
That is the first accurate post on page 2 of this thread, onya.

Ahab

[bush mechanics]

SAAB 340bs Latest and greatest??Wasnt that the SAAB 2000,Just before they shut down the line?

[KRUSTY 34]

Gidday Bush Mechanic.

Unfortunately comparing the Saab340 with the 2000 is a little like apples and oranges.

The 2000 was a truly next generation aircraft. It incorporates many of the features one would expect to find even on a new build aircraft today! FADEC, Full modern EFIS, Much simplified systems, first class ergonomics to name but a few. As well as this, real 31,000 feet ceilings and a TAS of around 370 kts!

These differences meant that it could not be simply compared to it's ancestors the 340A & 340B.

A Saab 340C was in the works. This 34 seat Cousin of the original Saab's would have had all the advanced features, and very importantly a common type endorsement of the 2000! Now that would have been a fantastic fleet mix.

Ultimately, the reason for the 2000's commercial failure was that it was born into a world of 50 seat regional jets. Despite superior field performance, and far better operating economies, and very competitive point to point times over 300 mile sectors, it could not however compete with it's sexier and propellor less rivals in the European and North American markets.

The 340C was stillborn, and Saab ceased building regional turboprops. a crying shame.

[Charlie Murdoch]

And....... :yuk:

[KRUSTY 34]

Not quite sure what you mean "Chuck"?

[V1OOPS]

Ultimately, the reason for the 2000's commercial failure was that it was born into a world of 50 seat regional jets.There was also the unfortunate issue of the power assisted elevator (or was it the elevator trim?). The original design showed borderline figures to gain certification and instead of building it into the prototype, they went the cheap quick way to beat the jets into production with unfortunate pitch loads showing up during testing. A head or two rolled, and the delay modifying and certifying the new trim system cost them about a year during which the RJs appeared.