REX AIRLINES Trading Halt
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,535
Likes: 224
From: Sydney Australia
In fact, there must have been some pretty good sweeteners to part with $172.5M and commit another $50M, for what is essentially a ruined business.
The next 6-12 months should be enlightening.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,535
Likes: 224
From: Sydney Australia
I haven’t seen anything about the sale of the Academy campus or the training aircraft, so I guess it’s not too much of a stretch to start it up again.
nomess is right though, the immediate priority will be for Captains. Assuming of course the fantasy of getting 14-17 gutted and engineless airframes back into the air gains any meaningful traction.
And Hopsdaily, believe me even when operating at its peak the Rex Cadeship produced some pretty good pilots, but it NEVER came close to solving their crewing issues.
nomess is right though, the immediate priority will be for Captains. Assuming of course the fantasy of getting 14-17 gutted and engineless airframes back into the air gains any meaningful traction.
And Hopsdaily, believe me even when operating at its peak the Rex Cadeship produced some pretty good pilots, but it NEVER came close to solving their crewing issues.
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 1,150
Likes: 889
From: Oz
By the time they stand up a new program and get people ready to upgrade, they will have no captain’s left.
The best thing they can do is pull pilots from the GA pool, and upgrade them as required, then fix the culture so they can get a couple of years out of them. They need to be realistic, people will be in and out of Rex in 5 years or less, hold file delays at competitors might prolong some people’s stay at the moment.
Wellcamp is pushing out hundreds of pilots that are not being taken by the QF group, then we have the GA pool which is sizeable. Plenty of people out there, Rex just need to adjust and get creative.
The best thing they can do is pull pilots from the GA pool, and upgrade them as required, then fix the culture so they can get a couple of years out of them. They need to be realistic, people will be in and out of Rex in 5 years or less, hold file delays at competitors might prolong some people’s stay at the moment.
Wellcamp is pushing out hundreds of pilots that are not being taken by the QF group, then we have the GA pool which is sizeable. Plenty of people out there, Rex just need to adjust and get creative.
Last edited by nomess; 30th December 2025 at 19:48.
Joined: Oct 2025
Aviation Qualifications: SLF
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
From: Brisbane
Hypothetically,
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 300
Likes: 39
From: NQLD
Hypothetically,
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
Play to the company strengths as a regional airline. Pilots go there as a stepping stone or because of the “lifestyle”.
So offer 1-3 large regional bases. Mildura, Dubbo, Wagga as examples. Build schedules from these bases to solve the eternal Sydney crew shortages.
2:
Throw money and/or benefits at the training staff. Doesn’t necessarily have to be salary either. When I was there (twice!) the ground course for pilots lacked teaching aids and the PowerPoint slideshow needed updating. The instructors all had passion but were frustrated by resources.
Higher allowance for training or additional annual leave or additional “special rostered days off” or…. I’m sure you get the hint.
We all know the average crew will join and move on as soon as they can. That is an accepted part of regional aviation. But the training staff that make a commitment to the company (by sticking around) should be treated well. This also helps the company keep functioning by providing a huge capacity to keep up with the turnover rate.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,535
Likes: 224
From: Sydney Australia
Hypothetically,
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
What would you ask Air T as a straight forward question regarding the future of REX from a pilot side if you had the chance?
if you had the chance to offer a serious suggestion without diving back into the past or being completely negative, what would it be?
Non political, just looking for positive, productive responses for moving forward.
Best address your questions to the previous/current management team.
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 116
Likes: 96
From: Around
And they’re not going to listen to anyone. They’ll just keep smashing the business into the same dead ends, with the old rusty levers burning staff like last time. All the while getting paid well for some reason.
Joined: Oct 2025
Aviation Qualifications: SLF
Posts: 17
Likes: 2
From: Brisbane
1:
Play to the company strengths as a regional airline. Pilots go there as a stepping stone or because of the “lifestyle”.
So offer 1-3 large regional bases. Mildura, Dubbo, Wagga as examples. Build schedules from these bases to solve the eternal Sydney crew shortages.
2:
Throw money and/or benefits at the training staff. Doesn’t necessarily have to be salary either. When I was there (twice!) the ground course for pilots lacked teaching aids and the PowerPoint slideshow needed updating. The instructors all had passion but were frustrated by resources.
Higher allowance for training or additional annual leave or additional “special rostered days off” or…. I’m sure you get the hint.
We all know the average crew will join and move on as soon as they can. That is an accepted part of regional aviation. But the training staff that make a commitment to the company (by sticking around) should be treated well. This also helps the company keep functioning by providing a huge capacity to keep up with the turnover rate.
Play to the company strengths as a regional airline. Pilots go there as a stepping stone or because of the “lifestyle”.
So offer 1-3 large regional bases. Mildura, Dubbo, Wagga as examples. Build schedules from these bases to solve the eternal Sydney crew shortages.
2:
Throw money and/or benefits at the training staff. Doesn’t necessarily have to be salary either. When I was there (twice!) the ground course for pilots lacked teaching aids and the PowerPoint slideshow needed updating. The instructors all had passion but were frustrated by resources.
Higher allowance for training or additional annual leave or additional “special rostered days off” or…. I’m sure you get the hint.
We all know the average crew will join and move on as soon as they can. That is an accepted part of regional aviation. But the training staff that make a commitment to the company (by sticking around) should be treated well. This also helps the company keep functioning by providing a huge capacity to keep up with the turnover rate.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 300
Likes: 39
From: NQLD
There was two buildings for “AAPA”. The cadet flight training was across the airport. The large “main” area was used for cadet accommodation plus all the Rex training listed above.
Joined: Jan 2026
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: NT
Rex training
Is the Rex training centre still at Wagga? I noticed it was listed on a realestate company as a prospective hotel but that was before they were bought out, not sure what’s happening now
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 581
Likes: 23
From: Australia
Joined: Dec 2023
Posts: 1,150
Likes: 889
From: Oz
So the Government has a $90m debt they will restructure and seek to pull back via a profit sharing deal (in what millennium?). They also have a $60m loan to Air T for engines that ‘must be paid back’.
They are big numbers for a tiny Saab operation to pay back. What is the Minister smoking?
They are big numbers for a tiny Saab operation to pay back. What is the Minister smoking?
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 2,535
Likes: 224
From: Sydney Australia
So the Government has a $90m debt they will restructure and seek to pull back via a profit sharing deal (in what millennium?). They also have a $60m loan to Air T for engines that ‘must be paid back’.
They are big numbers for a tiny Saab operation to pay back. What is the Minister smoking?
They are big numbers for a tiny Saab operation to pay back. What is the Minister smoking?
Joined: Dec 2001
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 4,419
Likes: 853
From: Brisvegas
Wonder why inflation is an issue with the government spending money like a drunken sailor?
What do they think 1500 arrivals PER DAY is doing to demand?
Joined: Oct 2018
Aviation Qualifications: Non-Aircrew
Posts: 274
Likes: 152
From: Australia
From: https://www.smh.com.au/business/comp...18-p5zy4r.html
Ex-transport minister, directors allegedly kept market in the dark about airline’s dire straits
Chris Zappone
Updated May 18, 2026 — 5:24pm,first published 2:53pm
Rex Airlines directors, including a former federal transport minister, knew the failed airline was publishing an “unreasonable and unsupportable” profit forecast before reversing course and revealing a $35 million loss in 2023, lawyers for the corporate regulator told a court on Monday.
In opening argument before the NSW Supreme Court, ASIC’s barrister said then-executive chairman Lim Kim Hai was aware Rex faced an operating loss in February 2023 but instead authorised a statement from Rex saying it was “optimistic the group will have positive operating profits” for the fiscal year.
Barrister Michael Borsky, for ASIC, told the court that “it was plain that the guidance was unreasonable and unsupportable, and ought to not be made, and ought to be withdrawn or corrected well before it was”.
ASIC is arguing that Rex breached its obligations to keep the market informed, and that Lim failed to take steps to correct the announcement made in February 2023.
Three of Rex’s board members also knew that when the company issued a positive view of the company’s finances in the February 2023 ASX announcement, it was unlikely to achieve an operating profit, Borsky argued.
The announcement said Rex was “optimistic the group will have positive operating profits for the full FY23 barring any further external shocks”, a reference to the aftermath of the COVID crisis that had caused disruptions and losses across the aviation sector.
Directors John Sharp AM, Lincoln Pan and Siddharth Khotkar failed to take steps to reveal Rex’s true financial position that it was unlikely to have positive operating profits for the year to June 30, 2023, the regulator alleges.
Sharp, a former Nationals MP, served as minister for transport in the Howard government in 1996-97.
The former directors are defending the allegations.
Borsky told Justice Ashley Black that from mid-April 2023 to mid-May 2023 the position of the defendants “becomes more difficult” because there was no suggestion in the minutes of meetings “that any one of them proposed for consideration any correction” on the guidance that had been in the market since the end of February.
On June 20, 2023, Rex announced a downgrade and forecast a $35 million operating loss for the financial year ending June 30.
In July 2024, Rex tipped into administration with $500 million in debt. It was delisted from the ASX in September 2025.
The Albanese government stepped in to offer assurances that the carrier, which provided crucial links to far-flung communities, would continue to operate while a buyer was found. The government provided up to $80 million in loans to keep Rex’s regional routes running, while taking $50 million of debt from Rex’s largest creditor, PAGAC Regulus Holdings Ltd this year.
After a global search for a suitor, US-based Air T, a regional carrier, was named as the buyer for Rex, with the government becoming the principal secured creditor.
Directors said they were in negotiations with “a major Australian domestic mainline operator” to “sell or transfer the loss-making domestic business” operated by Rex, when the insolvency occurred, a report by voluntary administrators EY in November said.
The administrators said a key cause of Rex’s failure was a shortage of pilots and supply chain problems, particularly for engine maintenance components, which led to suboptimal use of its fleet.
An inability to continue servicing its core regional markets, because of the readiness of its fleet, undercut Rex’s ability to stay afloat.
At the same time, the administrators blamed Rex’s decision to enter a “competitive domestic market to service the metro flight routes between major cities with an inability to secure frequency”.
In 2023, Rex blamed a lack of access to competitive slots for take-off and departure at Sydney, raising concerns of so-called “slot-hoarding” by larger rivals Qantas and Virgin.
Rex has been contacted for comment on the ASIC case. The case continues.
Chris Zappone
Updated May 18, 2026 — 5:24pm,first published 2:53pm
Rex Airlines directors, including a former federal transport minister, knew the failed airline was publishing an “unreasonable and unsupportable” profit forecast before reversing course and revealing a $35 million loss in 2023, lawyers for the corporate regulator told a court on Monday.
In opening argument before the NSW Supreme Court, ASIC’s barrister said then-executive chairman Lim Kim Hai was aware Rex faced an operating loss in February 2023 but instead authorised a statement from Rex saying it was “optimistic the group will have positive operating profits” for the fiscal year.
Barrister Michael Borsky, for ASIC, told the court that “it was plain that the guidance was unreasonable and unsupportable, and ought to not be made, and ought to be withdrawn or corrected well before it was”.
ASIC is arguing that Rex breached its obligations to keep the market informed, and that Lim failed to take steps to correct the announcement made in February 2023.
Three of Rex’s board members also knew that when the company issued a positive view of the company’s finances in the February 2023 ASX announcement, it was unlikely to achieve an operating profit, Borsky argued.
The announcement said Rex was “optimistic the group will have positive operating profits for the full FY23 barring any further external shocks”, a reference to the aftermath of the COVID crisis that had caused disruptions and losses across the aviation sector.
Directors John Sharp AM, Lincoln Pan and Siddharth Khotkar failed to take steps to reveal Rex’s true financial position that it was unlikely to have positive operating profits for the year to June 30, 2023, the regulator alleges.
Sharp, a former Nationals MP, served as minister for transport in the Howard government in 1996-97.
The former directors are defending the allegations.
Borsky told Justice Ashley Black that from mid-April 2023 to mid-May 2023 the position of the defendants “becomes more difficult” because there was no suggestion in the minutes of meetings “that any one of them proposed for consideration any correction” on the guidance that had been in the market since the end of February.
On June 20, 2023, Rex announced a downgrade and forecast a $35 million operating loss for the financial year ending June 30.
In July 2024, Rex tipped into administration with $500 million in debt. It was delisted from the ASX in September 2025.
The Albanese government stepped in to offer assurances that the carrier, which provided crucial links to far-flung communities, would continue to operate while a buyer was found. The government provided up to $80 million in loans to keep Rex’s regional routes running, while taking $50 million of debt from Rex’s largest creditor, PAGAC Regulus Holdings Ltd this year.
After a global search for a suitor, US-based Air T, a regional carrier, was named as the buyer for Rex, with the government becoming the principal secured creditor.
Directors said they were in negotiations with “a major Australian domestic mainline operator” to “sell or transfer the loss-making domestic business” operated by Rex, when the insolvency occurred, a report by voluntary administrators EY in November said.
The administrators said a key cause of Rex’s failure was a shortage of pilots and supply chain problems, particularly for engine maintenance components, which led to suboptimal use of its fleet.
An inability to continue servicing its core regional markets, because of the readiness of its fleet, undercut Rex’s ability to stay afloat.
At the same time, the administrators blamed Rex’s decision to enter a “competitive domestic market to service the metro flight routes between major cities with an inability to secure frequency”.
In 2023, Rex blamed a lack of access to competitive slots for take-off and departure at Sydney, raising concerns of so-called “slot-hoarding” by larger rivals Qantas and Virgin.
Rex has been contacted for comment on the ASIC case. The case continues.