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Rex unveils livery on 737s set to fly golden triangle

written by Adam Thorn | December 26, 2020

Rex has finally unveiled the first of its new golden triangle 737s painted in its new livery.

The Boeing 737-8FE, VH-RQC msn 33797, landed in Sydney at 8:30 am on Christmas Eve, after a transit stop in Brisbane the day before.

It comes after Rex signed off on a $150 million investment in November that will allow it to expand its operations to fly Sydney–Melbourne–Brisbane routes with an initial six leased Boeing 737s.

The business had revealed computer-generated images of what its new 737s would look like, but this is the first time they have been spotted in the flesh.

Rex’s deputy chairman John Sharp called it a “historic moment”.

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“Our second 737 is currently being painted by Douglas Aerospace at one of the country’s finest aircraft paint facilities in Wagga Wagga,” said Sharp. “The remaining four 737s are undergoing scheduled checks and will be brought in-country over the next three months.

“Rex is bringing its renowned country hospitality to the capital city market, offering twice the value at half the cost. This is the shake-up Australia’s domestic aviation sector has been crying out for and it could not have come at a better time, as Australia struggles to recover from the worst pandemic in the last century.”

Earlier this month, Australian Aviation reported how Rex acquired a “High Capacity Air Operator’s Certificate”, which allows it to fly 737s and any aircraft with more than 38 seats or weighing more than 4,200 kilograms. Its current fleet of 60 Saab 340s carry slightly fewer passengers.

Rex has already begun selling tickets for capital city routes, which will begin on 1 March with nine flights per day between Sydney and Melbourne.

Prices will start from $79 and economy tickets will include checked baggage, food and pre-assigned seating – indicating Rex will pursue a ‘mid-market’ hybrid strategy.

“By Easter, two additional 737s will be added to expand our domestic network to Brisbane and other capital cities. If all things go as planned, we hope to grow our fleet to 8-10 by the end of 2021,” said Sharp.

“Rex will offer all the usual perks of a full-service carrier including eight Business Class seats. All fares include checked baggage allowance, food, pre-assigned seating and online check-in. Lounge access and on-board Wi-Fi will be free for Business Class, whilst Economy passengers can access these options for a small fee.”

In November, Australian Aviation photographer Lenn Bayliss photographed Rex’s first 737 shortly after it had its old Virgin livery removed at Wellcamp and before the regional airline took delivery of it in Sydney on 5 November.

The plane has been flying back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, likely in preparation for its CASA proving flight.

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Comments (9)

  • Voltron

    says:

    For this regional carrier who was on the brink of collapse, with its hand out for government support claiming they needed the money to continue ferrying country samples for testing just after Covid-19 started, this is an extremely remarkable recovery. Hmmmm…..

  • Gordon

    says:

    So how can Rex administration ensure the Australian govt. and public that they can survive/expand in an already crowded aviation market place with Qantas, Jetstar,Virgin Australia (or whoever they will be named post Covid-19 takeover). It does beggar belief that while there are a myriad of various airline planes parked in centralism Alice Springs, that Rex will expand/survive given past Australian aviation history of airline failures!

  • That reference to 4200 kilograms in the context of a High Capacity AOC is the payload of the aircraft, not the weight of the aircraft.

  • Craigy

    says:

    Question is which country is REx’s heart in!!

    • Ronald Fletcher

      says:

      Not Australia that’s for sure when they say they will get their pilots from outside Australia

  • Jeffrey Atkinson

    says:

    Great looking Aeroplane. Hope they keep the Bastards honest.

  • Nate

    says:

    It’ll be interesting to see how long Rex actually lasts, once they start flying on the ‘golden triangle’.
    Pretty painted ‘planes won’t draw pax in, but frequent flights at wanted times will, & of course, cheap airfares, which have got to be cheaper than JQ, to count.
    I suppose the old adage, ‘time will tell’, prevails.

  • CJ

    says:

    GORDON

    They are not competing with Jetstar, they already have regional passengers many who used to connect on Virgin, their costs are very low & they are only competing with jets on the most profitable routes in Australia. Doubt if they’ll be flying to places like Cairns anytime soon.

  • Td

    says:

    Give Rex a go. It’s not easy to get a hi cap AOC so they have something going for them. I just hope they are using experienced Australian crews (including cabin crew and ground staff) being paid normally and not under duress for extra out of pocket expenses for the reward of flying in their aircraft. They ll still have lots of hurdles to bounce over on a regular basis where the other majors may not willingly cooperate which will equate to extra major possibly unforeseen expenses. Let’s give them a go as they’ve supported our regional areas ; it’s the Aussie thing to do. (Before you say it their heart is here but their bank is overseas just like Virgin and 49% of Qantas)

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