REX (Regional Express) launches Townsville to Mackay

Regional Express is launching a new assault on the Queensland market with its first new route for almost two years as it takes on QantasLink and adds 60,000 seats between Townsville and Mackay.

The new service, due to launch on October 1 with three return services a day, is the airline’s second bid to break into the Queensland market. But managing director Jim Davis does not expect the new service to follow the path of the airline’s first attempt, a 2007 service between Brisbane and Maryborough that lasted about six weeks. He said northern Queensland was a totally different market that had greater potential. The airline also believes it can use an existing Pel-Air "fly-in, fly-out" mining operation to gain efficiencies for the new operation.

The Rex subsidiary already bases two Saab aircraft from the parent company’s fleet at Townsville to serve its contract with Barrick Gold’s Osborne Mine, near Cloncurry. Mr Davis said this meant Rex would need to station just one additional aircraft in the north Queensland centre rather than the two that would normally be required to guarantee reliable services. He said Townsville airport was also less expensive than the capital city operation at Brisbane and that the airline had no need to establish a maintenance base because there was an existing Saab-approved operation. "And also, of course, we have an existing ground-handling operation at Townsville for the mining contract and we can just expand it a little bit to cover the RPT (regular public transport)," he said. "In effect, it’s not really a greenfields site for us and that enables us to do it with more efficiency than when we last attempted to set up a brand new operation out of Brisbane." Rex believes the new service will provide an attractive alternative to the incumbent operator. "We just see there’s potential between Townsville and Mackay for an operator to offer a better service," Mr Davis said. "And we are operating three flights a day, which offers a daily return service between either Mackay or Townsville. "So we are hoping that, as we’ve done before when we’ve entered a market, we can expand the market to some extent and generate new passengers." Mr Davis said the new route was an exciting development for Rex after last year’s problems with the pilots shortage and its decision to axe routes in NSW. He said aircraft continued to arrive in Australia under the carrier’s deal with Saab to take 25 newer B-plus aircraft. But he said it did not mean the airline was seeing a recovery in passenger numbers that gave it enough confidence to make any predictions about the market. "It really is a case of, while we do have the resources, of putting our foot in Queensland to see whether its going to work," he said. Townsville airport welcomed the new route and the city’s Mayor, Les Tyrell, described the move as a major boost for both northern Queensland cities.