Rex Airlines Australia

[JJK2008]

OK going to ask for more opinions. My DW and I will be spending about 6 weeks in Australia in October and November with a two-week NZ cruise in the middle of our Oz adventures. Our plan is to see as much as possible in the time we have. We're planning fly/drive combinations to various places in Oz and are in the process of booking our domestic flights. We've read all the bad things about Jetstar. We came across Rex Airlines which will have flights on one of the city-to-city legs we were looking at. We know nothing about Rex Airlines. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

 

John

[lyndarra]

Can't say I've heard any untoward or negative reports about Rex, a regional airline, but I would never book Jetstar, they are cheap but IMO too risky.

[Sparky74]

4 minutes ago, JJK2008 said:

OK going to ask for more opinions. My DW and I will be spending about 6 weeks in Australia in October and November with a two-week NZ cruise in the middle of our Oz adventures. Our plan is to see as much as possible in the time we have. We're planning fly/drive combinations to various places in Oz and are in the process of booking our domestic flights. We've read all the bad things about Jetstar. We came across Rex Airlines which will have flights on one of the city-to-city legs we were looking at. We know nothing about Rex Airlines. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

 

John

Rex is a smaller airline servicing regional airports with smaller planes. The name, Rex, is an abbreviation of "Regional Express". 
 

I don’t fly very often but I can’t recall having any major issues with them. ANY airline can have flights delayed or cancelled and bags will sometimes go astray, that's the nature of travel.

 

I've flown with Jetstar too and been happy with them. YMMV

 

I always avoided avoided TigerAir but that’s a bid academic as I don’t think they exist anymore. 

[cruiser3775]

Rex (Regional Express) is a smaller airline, but has a very good reputation. They started by doing flights between larger regional cites, including some which were not serviced by the big two Australian airlines. More recently, they have added flights between major cities. They have the reputation of being the most on time of all the Australian domestic airlines.

Jetstar is the least reliable of the domestic airlines for being on time, but still fills a niche as a low cost carrier. I've flown on them a few times recently without major problems. Just be aware that the price you see does not include checked baggage, food or seat selection or cancellation/rebooking.  Added in, these may make the cost close to the same as Qantas or Virgin.

[yarramar]

Rex is quickly growing it's popularity and reputation as being the airline of choice among Australian travellers. They have less cancellations and delay issues than any of the other local carriers apart from Bonza who are new and building support.

[Hogbay]

3 hours ago, JJK2008 said:

OK going to ask for more opinions. My DW and I will be spending about 6 weeks in Australia in October and November with a two-week NZ cruise in the middle of our Oz adventures. Our plan is to see as much as possible in the time we have. We're planning fly/drive combinations to various places in Oz and are in the process of booking our domestic flights. We've read all the bad things about Jetstar. We came across Rex Airlines which will have flights on one of the city-to-city legs we were looking at. We know nothing about Rex Airlines. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

 

John

Have been flying REX for years never had issue . Coffs/Sydney and Brisbane/ Sydney .👍👍

[possum52]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

Jetstar is the least reliable of the domestic airlines for being on time, but still fills a niche as a low cost carrier. I've flown on them a few times recently without major problems. Just be aware that the price you see does not include checked baggage, food or seat selection or cancellation/rebooking.  Added in, these may make the cost close to the same as Qantas or Virgin.

It depends which category of ticket you purchase. It is quite clear what your choice includes.

Edited July 4, 2023 by possum52

[ELep]

I have heard only positive reports from someone who uses Rex regularly on the Sydney to Brisbane route. 

[JJK2008]

You folks are the BEST!!! Thank You for all the replies.

John

[Amaroo Andrew]

On the major domestic routes in respect to recovery aspects (organizing another aircraft or getting a seat on another flight) Rex may be at the bottom of the list in the event of a problem. There are only seven B737s in the fleet (6 of those aircraft are ex Virgin) and they will be spread everywhere on the east coast. Qantas will probably be the best option with Virgin and Jetstar on a par.  If  your time is limited you don't want to spend any of it twiddling your thumbs in an airport lounge.

Every airline in Australia is suffering from staffing problems (tech crew, cabin crew and engineers) and the sourcing of spares. What is flying though is very safe.

As in all things in regard to service, it all depends on what you want to pay. Oats are expensive to buy, but if you want some that have been through the horse once they will cost a little less.  

[NSWP]

I have flown REX half a dozen times, Moruya to Sydney and return flights. From here they use their workhorses, the Saab 340, 40 seaters, most of their regional fleet. 
 

Quite reliable but restricted to 15kg luggage on the Saab and catering is a  Bottle of water or tea/coffee and a Sweet or savoury biscuit.

Edited July 8, 2023 by NSWP

[ozdevil]

On 7/4/2023 at 7:52 AM, JJK2008 said:

OK going to ask for more opinions. My DW and I will be spending about 6 weeks in Australia in October and November with a two-week NZ cruise in the middle of our Oz adventures. Our plan is to see as much as possible in the time we have. We're planning fly/drive combinations to various places in Oz and are in the process of booking our domestic flights. We've read all the bad things about Jetstar. We came across Rex Airlines which will have flights on one of the city-to-city legs we were looking at. We know nothing about Rex Airlines. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance.

 

John

Bonza is another airline to look at  however they are reasonably new  and dont fly the convential routes

also if your planning on  hiring a vehicle  you can can some very good cheap  rentals   that  wont cost you an arm an a leg .  if you can snag a vehicle relocation to an area you want to see in the area your in and to the destination your heading  this could even save you airfare costs

for example   you may get a small hatch back from sydney airport to brisbane   4 days free and after that $25/day with 2000km  +1 free tank of fuel   +road tolls in Sydney and Brisbane include  and only a $500 dollar bond

https://www.transfercar.com.au/search?sort_col=extras&view_by=list&page=3

Even camper van relocations can be done as well

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by ozdevil

[JJK2008]

18 hours ago, ozdevil said:

Bonza is another airline to look at  however they are reasonably new  and dont fly the convential routes

also if your planning on  hiring a vehicle  you can can some very good cheap  rentals   that  wont cost you an arm an a leg .  if you can snag a vehicle relocation to an area you want to see in the area your in and to the destination your heading  this could even save you airfare costs

for example   you may get a small hatch back from sydney airport to brisbane   4 days free and after that $25/day with 2000km  +1 free tank of fuel   +road tolls in Sydney and Brisbane include  and only a $500 dollar bond

https://www.transfercar.com.au/search?sort_col=extras&view_by=list&page=3

Even camper van relocations can be done as well

 

Great info....Thank You