Regional Specific will dedicate its first six Boeing 737 jets to the Sydney-Melbourne route from March 2021, earlier than rising it’s fleet and capital metropolis community from the second half of the yr.
It’s a openly bold assault on Australia’s hyper-competitive hall – the business’s crown jewel for company and leisure journey – which is able to put Rex in opposition to muscle-bound incumbent Qantas and a streamlined Virgin Australia.
The primary of six Boeing 737s – all beforehand leased to Virgin Australia – is now being readied for supply to Rex’s Sydney base, the place it is going to be used for floor coaching in addition to venturing into the sky for proving flights (nonetheless in a de-branded white livery) in early December.
No less than three jets – one in every of them mentioned to the airline’s nominal flagship, bearing the registration VH-REX, which is at the moment assigned to a Saab 340B – will participate within the March 1 launch of Sydney-Melbourne flights, with three extra now slated to be in place by early April.
These six Boeing 737s all date from the Virgin Blue period and carry a median age of 11.5 years, predating the discharge of the later Virgin Australia plane that includes the fashionable ‘Boeing Sky Inside’.
‘Virgin not in our cross-hairs’
Government Traveller understands these ex-Virgin jets will largely be flown by ex-Virgin pilots, backed by ex-Virgin attendants and ex-Virgin engineers.
Even Rex’s inside Project Mother codename for its capital metropolis push was a nod to the Brisbane-based challenger, as a result of “Mom is the other of Virgin” chuckles Rex deputy chairman John Sharp.
All the identical, Sharp insists that Rex doesn’t have particularly Virgin Australia in its cross-hairs.
“I do not assume anyone’s in our cross-hairs, and I do not wish to paint ourselves as taking up Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, or Uncle Tom Cobley,” he tells the agency.
“All we see ourselves as doing is including to the selection that travellers may have… we do not wish to be seen to be taking up anyone.”
However isn’t Rex taking up all gamers, and by necessity in search of to carve out its personal slice of their market share?
“Properly, that is true,” Sharp admits, “we might want to get some market share… however the factor to give attention to shouldn’t be a lot market share, however profitability and sustainability.”
In widespread with outgoing Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah and Virgin’s new house owners Bain Capital, Sharp refuses to worship on the altar of market share.
“You need to have the ability to function the enterprise in a method that allows it to outlive – no matter market share we get that achieves that consequence is secondary.”
Constructing the client base
A baseline of that market share will come from Rex’ current prospects who fly between regional centres and the capital cities.
“We predict there’s a reasonably large portion of our regional travellers connecting onto different flights,” Sharp explains.
“Let’s say you are flying from Dubbo to Melbourne. You fly the primary sector with Rex to Sydney, and you then get onto a flight to Melbourne.”
At the moment, that inter-city leg is made with a competing airline – from March 2021, Sharp expects passengers will full their journey with Rex.
“We’re not sure as to the precise quantity as a result of we do not ebook these connecting flights, however as as a ballpark determine we estimate someplace between 30-40% are connecting onto different companies, and clearly we’d wish to seize all of these passengers.”
“That offers us a superb begin, and clearly we’ll want greater than them, and therefore extra leisure travellers,‘greatest fare of the day’ authorities journey and so forth.”
Aggressive pricing
Sharp additionally hopes that small companies can be among the many first to pattern Rex “as a result of we’re typically very aggressive in our value.”
The individuals who run small companies “are often they’re those doing the travelling (so) they’re extra acutely aware of value,” in comparison with “corporates the place the folks doing the travelling usually are not paying, in order that they’re much less price-conscious.”
So how low can Rex’s fares go, as a way to appeal to all these travellers?
“We predict we’ll be very aggressive in opposition to Jetstar, and we’ll be aggressive in opposition to Qantas in opposition to Virgin. Of these airways, Rex has in all probability concerning the lowest value base so are in all probability ready to supply very aggressive costs.”
Sharp even expects an early diploma of ‘sampling’ by curious travellers, “individuals who will wish to attempt one thing new and totally different.”
