Rex in Perth?
 

I see Rex are advertising EOI for a Perth base. Does anybody know anything? Expansion?

Talk of a Change
 

There's talk of an Email doing the rounds of a change in the air in W.A this morning :eek: :eek: :eek:

What do you mean by this?
Also why would they leave qld? They have only been there a year.

The fable running around FNQ is that when REX won both the western and northern subsidised routes and did so at the pricing point of no subsidy
Now this will explain a few things along the way, but is by no means convincing. Either way it matters nought if its all bovine excrement.

The pax loads will never and have never covered the costs on either route, hence the term used in the tender subsidised.

So there was a bit of fluff that REX were going to pull the pin on the north, who knows, who cares, whats more interesting in this little fable is Virgin saying they are not going to bid for the WA protected routes.

If you cant make money with a 25+ year old, written down (off) turbo prop assets on protected routes..... well lets say you cant make money:E

REX is betting that Skippers wont pick it up..... nothing more, nothing less.

But do they have the airframes...... if they don't take them from under performing routes.......

At least six, actually.

Would this have anything to do with it?

Concern for regional WA air services as Virgin pulls out of Albany, Esperance routes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

PER/ALH has 15 flights a week most weeks, with 48 seat F50's. That's 720 seats in each direction.


Think likely outcome will be 34 seats Saab 340's or 36 seats Dash 8 with maybe 2 flights a day M-F & one a day may Sat & Sun, so if say 12 flights a week, that's 408 to 432 seats per week, a more realistic number of seats.


If no Sat flights, then 374 to 396 seats a week in each direction. Fares would probably have to go up as well or lowest fares would disappear or both.


Maybe EPR & ALH would effectively have to share an aircraft.

WA
 

REX will not pull out of QLD. They most likely will reduce services on less popular routes to free up aircraft. May have bought a few more. It'll probably be a satellite base the way TL first started. With no link to network.

Rex have put out a media release saying they have been awarded the Perth routes

Will REX start flying after Feb 4th 2016
 

Marty says the F50s are not ADSB ready :{

CASA have said after 4 Feb 2016, an aircraft that is operated under the IFR in Airspace that is Class A, B, C or E and within the arc of a circle that starts 500 NM North from PH & finishes 500 NM true east from PH must carry serviceable ADS-B transmitting equipment that complies with CAO 20:18

Merren, what's gunna happen between the 4th & 27th FEB to the current F50 runs :confused: :confused: :confused:

I guess they need to do something. REX lost their Pel air defence contract a few months back and considering this was close to 1/2 their profit last year with their aeromedical providing the rest. ( basically all pel air...) next years financials will be ugly.
Only problem is if the east coast is struggling for profit. How will the west be different considering they don't change their ways.

Could always cook the books I guess.

What about all the crews ?
 

West b Flyer > 2 x valid points we'll give you that :ok: albeit F50 loads on a F100s is a cash burner & the fact can they land at all the F50 locations / ports ? :{

Pls advise the likely outcome for the F50 crews, will it be at some others crew positions expense :confused:

We have heard how many will transgress into other aircraft currently flying, but how very nervous are the poor F50 / ATR juniors feeling about now :ouch:

Its not their fault they have questionable MORAL MANAGEMENT :*

We'd like to see HEADS ROLL over continual poor Management decisions & direction within :E :E :E

There's something MUCH MUCH MORE in life than profiteering from your annual KPI bonus at staffs expense := := :=

Interesting that Rex has said services will start from Albany and Esperance, ie Albany Perth Albany

Does this mean crew will be based in Albany and Esperance?, no doubt this swayed the outcome.

Skywest/VARA seniority
 

Can anyone answer the implications of seniority within VARA. I ask, because before VARA it was all Skywest. Virgin's clever way of ensuring it didn't expose its own entity on a Regional adventure. That worked well!

Anyway, as far as I'm aware, all VARA pilots were originally employed as Skywest pilots on the Skywest EBA, but then Skywest collapsed. Did all these pilots then become one big happy VARA family now employed by Virgin?

If so, does this now mean that any base closure/reduction in WA will have implications for those more junior pilots on the East Coast?

Or am I missing something?

Dont you mean brought out by Virgin?

Possibly meaning the aircraft will overnight at the outports.

Skystar320.

Don't you mean bought :rolleyes:

What pilot bases does REX have?

Gidday Skystar320.

You are correct of course. Once it became apparent that Skywest were now insolvent, Virgin had a simple choice, buy them or see the embryonic VARA operation die an early death. I suspect however you already knew that.

The original question though still remains.

Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Lismore, Dubbo, Townsville, Brisbane, Cairns and Mackay

If they had an Albany base it would be a good gig. Living on the coast cheaper housing etc.

Krusty, although the ATRs are transitioning to mainline's AOC all the pilots are still employed under the new VARA EBA. What this means for the pilot body is unknown at this stage but hopefully it will be spared any redundancies.
As for Skywest's "collapse" it's worth noting the company made a net profit $7.5m in '09-10, $7.7m in '10-11 and $5.5m for '11-12, I'm not aware of any profit/loss figures for '12-13 prior to the Virgin buy out in April 2013. Are you privy to some very confidential information or just relying on rumours?
Apologies for the thread drift, best of luck to REX and I hope it works out well for their crew.

One of the big issues out of Albany was that pax, (80% of whom were business or government), were scrambling to make it to a Perth meeting by 1000 with a planned ETD Albany of 0755. SkyWest proved impervious to requests to position an F50 overnight so it could depart Albany and be in Perth by 0800.
Despite there being an ILS on rwy 14, there were many aborts with the arrival at around 0720. We see a fair bit of fog here.

Fares have been the other issue. Aircraft often leave here with dozens of empty seats, yet there are often only 2 or 3 discounted seats on any one flight. This has been a very sore point. Albany has many thousands of pensioners and other retirees who are price sensitive. Very few tourists fly into here because of price in the 1st instance.

I understand that the City of Albany, and other respondents, have left REX in no doubt about why this city was unhappy with the incumbent RPT performance. Reportedly, they have been offered a deal to base ex Albany.

My understanding is that the proposal is for 25 flights per week. There is plenty of scope to grow the service, but not if fares begin at higher than what they have been. (Albany has 33,000 population).

It will be interesting. happy days,

IMHO it would be crazy to have a base in Albany and/or Esperance. Having said that it is essential to have crew overnighting Sunday to Friday in both these ports to provide the services to Perth that Poteroo alludes to. These would potentially minimise the weather risks that he has also instances.

What other flights fill in the schedule to provide the number of seats required while optimising crew and aircraft would need a bit of thought. I would have thought that a reasonable schedule to the two ports could be done with three aircraft (to provide some redundancy even four to take the pressure off - after all SF340's are not that expensive). ADL to PLO and ADL to WHA minus a few flights would provide a reasonable model.

But what would I know lol.

It's a Perth Base!
 

No Albany base or Esperance base guys.

It will be Perth, not sure where that was drawn from?

13 NOVEMBER 2015


MEDIA RELEASE

REX SELECTED AS PREFERRED TENDERER FOR WA ROUTES


The Western Australian (WA) Government has today announced Regional Express (Rex) as the preferred tenderer for the Perth-Albany and Perth-Esperance routes.

The announcement follows an extensive review and competitive tender process by the WA Government of regulated Regular Public Transport air services in the state. Subject to final negotiations, Rex will enter into a contract with the Department of Transport to operate the routes for the next five-year licence period commencing 28 February 2016.

Rex will release further information only when the contract is finalised.

Regional Express (Rex) is Australia’s largest independent regional airline operating a fleet of more than 40 Saab 340 aircraft on some 1,400 weekly flights to 54 destinations throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland. The Rex Group comprises Regional Express, air freight and charter operator Pel-Air Aviation and Dubbo-based regional airline Air Link, as well as the pilot academy Australian Airline Pilot Academy.

Rex Media Contact: Corporate Communications – +61 402 438 361

Poor punters in ABA and ESP won't know what hit them when they go a long way backwards from a Fifty to a 340!

Punters will be very happy if:

(1) there are less 'technicals'
(2) there is increased frequency
(3) there is an early flight to Perth and a late one back
(4) the fares are half reasonable.

happy days,

1. There won't be.
2. There will obviously have to be as the capacity is heavily reduced
3. Who can say?
4. For sure REX is not for profit after all...

Big step backwards for WA.

25 per week..... Dreaming
 

Have a read of the state released report on RPT flying on protected routes within WA. Easily found via Google

If Rex do 25 flights a week il be shocked. In my opinion it will see them out of WA quicker than they got here.....

The numbers ex ALB simply do not support it. VARA were struggling with 15... The problem on that route is the expectation from the community vs the cost to provide such services are both way out of proportion.
Simply not enough pax numbers ex ALB to have more than a daily service at present... Maybe the SAAB could add the odd double daily in there.

A big shift in everything is required on that route to see it prosper for the community and for any hope of tourism boost from all components :ok:

Haha, bingo! :}

At least the punters will get aviators though.

P.S. I thought we had a "regional airline" over here with 30 seaters.

Gidday Goanna01.

Looks like you're in possession of all the data, except the one that counts!

No "very confidential information" I'm afraid. Check those figures you admit you don't have. All public, no conspiracy theories, if memory serves Virgin even made an announcement at the time.

All academic of course, but it wouldn't be the first time a profitable (albeit moderately so) aviation business has been lured to its demise by the promise of big things!

Whats REX put a SAAB out for ?
 

Hey KRUSTY 34 Guru

What would REX put a 340 out on the ramp for p/hr man :confused:

Those GE's would have to burn fuel & oil as much as a thirsty PW > not to mention the expensive overhauls < we would roughly suggest $3200 - $3900 :ugh: :ugh: :ugh:

Duty,

Not sure about maintenance costs, but I know from talking with a friend on the q300, those machines are burning double the fuel burn of the Saab. Can't say if they were accurate figures given to me, but I would assume so given the person flies them everyday.

Buggered if I know guys, I just drive the bloody things!

But seriously, they burn around average 630 litres an hour (as little as 550 at cruise altitude), and TAS anywhere between 260-280 depending on the day.

K

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-1...ticism/6953292

Interesting many staff being laid off for a service they don't currently operate. I also note the State Government extended Skippers contract on the Goldfields route until the 27th of June 2016, maybe that is to see how Rex go.

The Q300 does indeed burn pretty close to twice the Saab – if you're counting the Saab's burn in litres and the Q in pounds.

Great news for us in Perth only means opportunity

3 additional SAAB 340B
 

REX is adding 3 further aircraft to it's fleet to service WA.

At least one or two is being sourced from Silver Airways in the US.

Rex plans frequency boost to Albany and Esperance
 

"The airline published schedules for its first two routes in WA on Wednesday, which showed Rex planned to offer four flights a day on the Albany-Perth route on weekdays, and three flights over the weekend for a weekly total of 23. This was up from 13 weekday flights and two weekend services from VARA under the current contract.

And Rex will have three flights a day on weekdays between Esperance and Perth, with a further three on the weekend lifting the weekly total to 18. VARA offered two flights a day during the week and three over the weekend.

WA Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the new schedule represented 53 per cent increase in weekly flights to Albany and 38 per cent boost for Esperance."

Rex plans frequency boost to Albany and Esperance | Australian Aviation

Any chance for someone with 2500hours on single and multi with instructing experience?

Would very much like to apply for it!
cheers!