Rex Boeing 737 expands lead as Australia’s most trusted airline

Official statistics on the performance of Australia’s domestic airlines were released today, confirming once again that Rex is Australia’s most trusted airline. The domestic and regional airline took home top honors for on-time arrivals, on-time departures and fewer canceled flights.

All airlines need to improve

Despite Rex’s outstanding performance, the industry continues to underperform its long-term performance average, with little sign of a return to more acceptable levels. Jetstar, Qantas, Rex, Skytrans and Virgin Australia collectively had on-time arrivals of 72.1%, departures of 71.6% and cancellations of 3.6%, compared to long-term averages of 81.3%, 82.4% and 2.2%. It was significantly lower.

The Australian Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Research Economics (BITRE) today released the September domestic airline on-time performance report. This report does not make for much reading for airline customers, especially considering that an on-time arrival or departure must only occur within 15 minutes of the scheduled time to be declared. It will be interesting to see what on time means in common usage and what the numbers look like.

In terms of punctuality, 75.5% of Rex flights arrived on time, compared to 74.8% for Qantas, 69.7% for Jetstar, 67.7% for Skytrans and 67.6% for Virgin Australia. Rex had 77.8% of its flights departing on time, followed by Qantas with 74.1%, Skytrans with 67.7%, Jetstar with 67.2% and Virgin Australia with 67.0%.

More slots in Sydney are wasted

In September, 1,657 flights were canceled by these five airlines, with Jetstar reducing flights by 4.9%, Skytrans by 4.2%, Virgin Australia by 3.9%, Qantas by 3.2% and Rex by 2.6%. Ta. The cancellation rate for all airlines was 3.6%, but the cancellation rate for some popular routes out of Sydney Airport is again alarming.

Chart: BITRE

Australia’s Champagne Route, which runs between Melbourne and Sydney, was once ranked by Forbes magazine as the second most profitable route in the world, taking the top spot from London Heathrow to New York JFK. In September, 7.8% of flights from Sydney to Melbourne were canceled, followed by Jetstar 9.9%, Virgin Australia 9.3%, Qantas 7.4% and Rex 0.0%.

That last number is not a typo, as Rex’s competitors failed to operate 172 flights, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of people, while Rex closed flights on Australia’s most popular routes in September. I didn’t cancel a single flight. As well as disappointing customers, these cancellations are a waste of Sydney Airport’s invaluable flight slots, deprive the airport of revenue, and the outdated 80/20 rule prevents new entrants like Bonza and Rex from taking over. The slot will no longer be operational.

Photo: Preston Fiedler | Simple Flight

The situation is similar for Sydney to Brisbane, with Jetstar canceling 8.9% of flights, Virgin Australia 5.9%, Qantas 3.8% and Rex 0.0%. Incredibly, Jetstar canceled 12.4% of flights from Sydney to Adelaide, Virgin Australia 5.0%, Qantas 3.4% and (you guessed it) 0.0% of flights canceled by Rex .

Rex takes the lead

These are purely official government statistics, so awarding Rex as Australia’s most reliable airline is entirely appropriate and supported by the facts. Today, Rex Vice Chairman John Sharp said the results reaffirm the company’s reputation as an industry leader in punctuality and reliability. he added:

“The simple fact is that numbers don’t lie. If you want maximum certainty of getting to your destination on time or to your destination, go with Rex. Because our reliability is Because it is unparalleled.”

During the year, Rex added Boeing 737-800s and opened new domestic routes while also addressing a pilot shortage in regional operations. Adding this level of complexity would be a challenge for any airline, but Rex was able to maintain reliability and punctuality ahead of its competitors.

Photo: Regional Express/Rex

It’s worth remembering that while Rex is a relative newcomer to the domestic jet market, it has operated an extensive and highly successful regional network for decades. The region’s fleet includes 58 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft, and with nine Boeing 737s, the integrated carrier flies to 57 destinations in every state of Australia.

The company is also a 50% partner of National Jet Express and has wholly owned subsidiaries Pel Air Aviation, Australian Airline Pilot Academy and Australian Aerospace Propeller Maintenance. Rex and its employees know aviation and, having served regional and rural communities for many years, understand how important reliability is to passengers, which is why the company is now in the domestic jet sector. No wonder it’s leading the way.

Have you ever traveled on a Rex 737? Let us know in the comments.