Regional Express adds Perth to Melbourne service that’s set to spark airfare price war with Qantas and Virgin

Perth passengers could soon benefit from an airfare price war as Regional Express muscles in on Qantas and Virgin’s duopoly with a new service to the east coast and hugely discounted tickets.

The carrier, more commonly known as Rex, revealed on Friday it would add a Perth-to-Melbourne route to its domestic network from June 28 to coincide with the start of the winter school holiday break in both States.

Flights will operate five days a week using 176-seat Boeing 737s, with sale fares starting from $299 each way for economy and $999 for business class.

Rex — which has in the past been a vocal critic of the tactics used by rival Qantas to fend off competition on small intrastate services on the east coast — said its Perth to Melbourne service would offer “more choice, reliable service and more competitive fares”.

General manager network strategy Warrick Lodge said it would add almost 90,000 seats to one of the nation’s busiest routes, delivering a boost for business, trade, tourism and travellers.

“When more airlines compete on a particular route, consumers benefit and our record in the domestic markets speaks for itself — Rex delivers terrific value for money,” Mr Lodge said.

“Rex consistently delivers outstanding domestic on-time performance results, and when travellers are booking a route of this distance and duration, reliability is paramount.“

As a smaller operator, Rex avoided much of the travelling public’s backlash levelled at its competitors — Qantas and Virgin both suffered reputational damage over delayed or cancelled flights and sky-high fares — as the aviation industry struggled to ramp up capacity to meet unprecedented demand at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

WA Deputy Premier and Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said the new Perth-to-Melbourne service was a major win for the State as it continued to lift domestic and international air connections after years of pandemic disruption.

“We always love welcoming Victorian friends to the west coast, so this is a fantastic announcement for tourism and our local industry here in Western Australia,” Ms Saffioti said.

“There’s so much to see, do and enjoy in our beautiful State all year round, so I certainly encourage Victorians to make the most of these new flights and book their next holiday to WA.”

Flight Centre said it has seen an 8 per cent increase in the number of booking made for the Perth-to-Melbourne route between January and the end of April, and a 12.5 per cent rise in business traveller bookings. While the resources sector still dominates corporate travel between the two cities, it noted a 28 per cent year-on-year increase in demand for those in the finance and insurance sectors.

Perth Airport set a new record for total passengers last year and chief commercial and aviation officer Kate Holsgrove said it was exciting to continue building off that strong base for the new service.

“Currently Rex operate four successful regional services within Western Australia,” Ms Holsgrove said.

“The introduction of Rex’s first interstate routes from our Terminal 2 is a sure sign of their confidence in the Perth market.

“This gives Western Australians more options for travel and we look forward to working with the Rex Airline team to ensure the new routes are successful.”

Victorian Government Minister for Jobs and Industry Natalie Hutchins said the extra direct flights between Melbourne and Perth would create local jobs and increase the State’s capacity on a key flight route.

Perth-to-Melbourne will be Rex’s 11th domestic service with its fleet of Boeing 737s.

It also operates interstate routes between Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and the Gold Coast but has long talked of spreading its wings west to take on Qantas and Virgin.

Rex, which was in 2023 crowned Australian Airline of the Year, has previously accused Qantas and Virgin of slot hoarding tactics, particularly in Sydney, that had added to high cancellation rates and delays.

Late year it accused Qantas of poaching pilots which forced it to cut back on some small routes that the Flying Kangaroo also operated on.