While most startup airlines enjoy at least a short honeymoon with local press and industry pundits, Michael Jones spent some of his first moments on the job last month as boss of Australia’s newest regional carrier deflecting criticism about his business plan. Built from the remains of former Ansett subsidiaries Kendall and Hazelton Airlines, Sydney-based Regional Express (Rex) opened for business on August 6, just five days after holding company Australiawide Airlines paid bankruptcy administrators some A$40 million ($21.5 million) for the operation. But it took even less time for at least one local “expert” to sound the death knell for the airline, despite a 25-percent increase in bookings during the new owners’ first week in business.
During an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp. Radio, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia technical director Bill Hamilton said the new airline faced near impossible odds of survival because of the high costs associated with airport charges, fuel and maintenance. Although Jones dismissed Hamilton’s analysis as “irrelevant” and “uninformed,” the Rex CEO continues to face an environment of cynicism bred by Ansett’s demise and intensifying competition for short-haul business from the likes of Virgin Blue and Qantas, which in April added six new Boeing 717s and seven new routes in eastern Australia.
