Will Rex still start Sydney-Melbourne on 1st of March? Or will it delay?

Due to all the uncertainty around inconsistencies of boarders closing at short notice, creating mayhem in cancellations and reset of flights, will Rex start Sydney-Melbourne as planned on 1st March?

I would think so, and with Rex having a straight up refund if the flight is cancelled many would look favourably at Rex when borders are questionable.

Apart from crystal ball gazing, you can only look at the situation as it exists at the moment. Rex says it will be flying from 1 March. They will tell us if that changes.

100% guesswork here, but I suspect they will fly even at 30% capacity as they probably account for price/capacity war with VA and QF in their loss making lead in period

However what I am not sure is how deep their pockets will be to sustain their full refunds guarantee for “ any reason to ask for refund just quote the border control as the main excuse” program. They may find it may be small fry to keep flying a near empty Saab but an expensive exercise for an empty 737 so a hard lockdown WA style (I know they don’t fly the 737 there but just referencing the measures) will almost certainly kill off a flight and return (although they may keep a skeleton schedule 2 or 3 return flights)

I hope borders won't be an issue by then and wish Regional Express the best of luck.

They have finally brought some reasonable pricing into the market. Looking at April can see Sydney-Melbourne for $79 on Virgin and REX, $110 on Qantas. Business can even be had for $299 on Virgin and REX (Qantas still at $710).

Before the Pandemic would be extremely tough to find anything <$200 a few months out on either Qantas or Virgin. The tourism industry needs all the help it can get post-Covid and reasonable airline pricing is important to stimulate tourism.

@KW72

I agree with what you wrote and REx will help to bring some healthy competition into the market

I do think REx needs to make sure their Business class product is not just a glorified Economy Premium Plus with just better seats in front and bigger boxed snack (sweet or savoury?) or meals. Mind you if their main pax traffic is travellers from one region to another region interstate, they may not care too much but if the main clientele for J class are city folks travelling intercapital, then their J class needs to feel different

A lot can happen in a day in politics.