Rex axes Kangaroo Island flights and blames Qantas

Saturday, 03 Feb, 2020 0

Regional Express (Rex) delivered a blow to the tourism recovery of fire-ravaged Kangaroo Island by announcing it is pulling out of the market.

It plans to scrap flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.

It also announced an upcoming suspension of the Sydney to Ballina route.

Rex laid the blame solely at Qantas which it accuses of predatory tactics.

Qantas is ‘dumping excessive capacity’ on the routes aimed at forcing Rex out.

"Unlike Qantas, Rex is not able to continue servicing a money-losing route indefinitely," the airline said in a statement.

It has lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

"The Rex Board has decided that in light of the sharp downturn experienced in the last six months and the poor economic outlook for the next 12 months, Rex will be exiting the Sydney to Ballina and Adelaide to Kangaroo Island routes."

"Qantas has won this round, but in the longer term the communities are the real losers."

Qantas denied the accusation.

It says Rex has a ‘track record for throwing tantrums when things aren’t going according to their plan.’

"Rex blaming our capacity commitments as a reason for exiting Kangaroo Island after the devastating bushfires is a sad state of affairs."

below social share icons

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

Chargebacks911 offers scalable solutions that are customized for any business of any size in any industry. With the flexibility to...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) is the only organization that promotes metro Detroit regionally, nationally and...

The Florida Keys and Key West is a 126 mile long string of Islands connected to South Florida by the...

Centara Hotels & Resorts is Thailand’s leading hotel operator. Its 93 properties span all major Thai destinations plus the Maldives,...

Here at Elegant Resorts, luxury travel is in our DNA. True pioneers in the industry, we were the first specialist...

With long periods of Thailand’s History, according to evidences and studies, Sukhothai was the first kingdom of Thailand. At that time, an early Thai...

Some describe it as a natural playground. Some say, it’s simply unique as it offers a great array of travel...

WANDERERS WELCOME to MISSISSIPPI Mississippi is a state for all those who are wanderers at heart. From lush, forested Appalachian foothills to...

If you’re thinking of cruising, there’s a very good chance you’re considering a Carnival cruise. Growing since our founding in...

ITB Asia, Asia’s Leading Travel Trade Show, is an annually held B2B trade show and convention for the travel industry; it is designed...

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Palladium Hotel Group is a renowned Spanish hotel chain that first emerged towards the end of the 1960s. Currently present...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...