Rex goes under: Regional Express Airlines grounds planes on capital city routes as administrators called in

Thousands of passengers have been left scrambling for flights after Rex Airlines abandoned its capital city ambitions and called in administrators.

Rex parent company Regional Express Holdings revealed on Tuesday night it had grounded its high-cost fleet of Boeing 737 jets providing services between major national airports.

Administrators from Ernst & Young will oversee attempts by the group to deal with financiers and leasing companies owed upwards of $300 million and to focus back on Rex’s traditional strength in regional aviation.

This comes less than five weeks after Rex all but completed its major airport expansion ambitions by commencing services to Perth from Adelaide and Melbourne.

Rex’s Perth services were officially axed last night along with services linking destinations including Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra, Cairns and the Gold Coast’s Coolangatta Airport.

Rex told passengers it had struck a deal with Virgin to honour the cancelled major destination flights provided the ticketholder made a new booking with Virgin by August 14.

The Rex collapse comes less than three months after Gold Coast-based rival Bonza crashed and four years after Virgin fell into administration at the depths of the COVID-19 crisis.

The restructured Virgin is grabbing the opportunity, saying in a statement that it intended to partner with Rex’s regional business to enable “seamless access” to its domestic and international operations. Virgin chief executive Jane Hrdlicka said Rex entering administration and suspending its Boeing 737 services was “a reminder of the challenging nature of our industry”.

Virgin confirmed the routes covered by the replacement ticket arrangement included the services between Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide.

But Rex said it would continue to operate regional Saab 340 flights until further notice.

Ms Hrdlicka said it was offering immediate support to Rex.

“Rex customers with imminent travel in the next 48 hours should contact the Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89,” she said.

“Those travelling outside 48 hours should visit the Virgin Australia website to complete a rebooking form.”

Ms Hrdlicka also urged Rex staff who lost their jobs to visit Virgin’s jobs page and apply for any open positions.

The administration comes less than five weeks after Rex launched flights between eastern capitals and Perth.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the airline received “substantial government support with no strings attached”.

“One of the things that I expressed concern about was that Rex moved away from their traditional role of being a regional airline into flights from Sydney to Melbourne,” Mr Albanese said.

Rex operates 24 flights each week between Perth and Albany and 22 flights each week to Esperance.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti earlier said the airline, which is also contracted to fly Monkey Mia and Carnarvon routes, was a “key player” in the regional market.

“We very much wanted to see them stay in WA because of the need for long-term competition,” she said.