REX: Airline grows its domestic network – adds Melbourne to Hobart route

Regional Express Airlines or REX, is the new kid on the block regarding domestic capital city flying in Australia. It launched just as the pandemic hit back in 2019.

Previously just a regional and fly-in fly-out provider, it has extended its fleet with Boeing 737-800s and its network to cover domestic routes between Australian capital cities.

REX is now flying between Melbourne and Hobart

Yesterday, Hobart became number six on REX’s list of capital cities it services. There is only one more they have to add – that’s Darwin for them to cover every capital city.

REX will be running daily flights between Melbourne to Hobart. The schedule, which changes by 10 to 30 minutes over the next 12 months looks like this:

• ZL709 – departs Melbourne 12:15, arrives Hobart 13:30
• ZL710 – departs Hobart 14:15, arrives Melbourne 15:30

Fares

REX is championing its competitive fares, but buyer beware its worth checking out comparative services on other domestic airlines using Google Flights or similar before making your purchase, despite what the vice-Chairman says:

“With Economy fares from Hobart starting at $79 and Business class seats from $349 it’s understandable they are being snapped up by those looking for an alternative to the sky-high prices and unreliable services being offered by other airlines. All our flights to the weekend are practically full.”

The Hon John Sharp AM, Deputy Chairman, REX

Randomly looking at fares in September, one way fares range between AU$ 89 and AU$ 200 one-way in Economy, and AU$ 350 to AU$ 450 in Business Class.

Competitive for Business Class according to Google flights for the same dates:

… but not for economy return:

… where Virgin and Jetstar are cheaper than REX.

2PAXfly Takeout

Adding to the competition on this route is a good thing, however, it looks like REX might have to fine-tune its pricing algorithm if it wants to be the competitive option for economy passengers. And by competitive, I mean cheapest.

I have yet to sample the delights of REX. In their opening week, I had a flight booked, but well, the pandemic and lockdowns intervened. I have just received a travel credit for that flight, so maybe it’s time to taste the service of REX. I’m tempted to construct an interesting itinerary, including Virgin Australia, Bonza and REX, and use the credits I have from two of those airlines, plus some Singapore Airlines points that expire in September. That Bonza doesn’t fly out of Sydney could be an interesting challenge.