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Rex on Friday announced it has agreed to a 10-year deal to be a ‘partner of choice’ of Flight Centre.
It comes alongside agreements with other travel agents including Helloworld, Webjet, and Consolidated Travel, which the airline believes will double its domestic revenues.
Rex’s general manager of sales, Ann Elliott, said, “These new partnerships are a testament to our growing reputation as a safe, reliable, and affordable full-service airline which is enjoying ever-increasing passenger support.”
The airline began flying capital city routes last year and now services the entire ‘Golden Triangle’ of Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne.
The good news comes after Rex Saab 340 pilots this week voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of taking industrial action against the airline, following a near four-year-long disagreement over pay and conditions.
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) said the action would start from Tuesday 28 June and include a ban on loading extra fuel prior to flights and not wearing uniforms.
On Wednesday, the AFAP said more than 90 per cent of its Saab pilot members voted to take a range of eight actions, including work bans and potentially work stoppages of up to four hours each.
It added that the ballot lasted a week, with 93 per cent of its members who were eligible to participate voting online.
Rex had previously told Australian Aviation the actions of the union were “beyond belief” and added its latest offer was “substantially better” than one accepted by the union on behalf of QantasLink pilots in 2021.
“Just last September, the AFAP agreed to a 2 per cent pay rise in 2021 and 2022 for QantasLink pilots,” Rex deputy chairman John Sharp said.
“Rex, on the other hand, has offered its SAAB pilots a 5.1 per cent pay rise from 1 July 2022, plus significant catch-up payments worth another 8 per cent once the business is profitable again.
“Rex is the only airline that has not retrenched any of its pilots and it has stood by them through the difficult COVID years.
“We believe that they will stand by the company during this period where recovery is nascent and the company is still fragile.”
The airline also accused the union of spreading “malicious, misleading, and deceptive” information to its members regarding the latest round of negotiations.
Vannus
says:ZL can ‘team up’ with as many travel agents’ as they want, but the decision on which airline to fly is up to the customer.
Many will choose not to fly on second-hand Boeings, whilst others will opt for more modern aircraft than Saabs.
The remainder will be forced to fly on Rex, as some routes’ are monopolised by it.
Sharp’s clutching at straws with these deals, as his business isn’t raking in the $ he thought he’d get on the ‘golden triangle’. Bad decision on his part, & it’s amazing his SIN billionaire bosses’ signed off on doing those flights.
A Boeing with 10 pax on board on a main trunk sector doesn’t pay for itself.
The FY21-22 results for Rex will be released in the not so distant future, then we’ll really know how it’s performed.