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Rex has reached a new milestone with the delivery of its tenth 737-800 ahead of Christmas.
Registered VH-8ZL, the plane touched down in Brisbane at 4:21pm on Wednesday after its ferry flight from Goodyear, Arizona, where it had undergone heavy maintenance and painting. Rex will put the aircraft, which previously flew with Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol, into service this week.
VH-8ZL is the third 737-800 that Rex has received this financial year, following VH-8KH in July and VH-8JS in September. The carrier, which currently operates its 737 fleet on 10 domestic routes, expects to take delivery of another of the aircraft before the end of FY24, subject to availability.
“This steady growth allows us to build more depth in to our schedule by adding additional frequencies on our most popular routes while at the same time allowing us to look at how we might also add more capital cities to our network,” said Rex deputy chairman John Sharp.
Rex signed the lease for VH-8ZL in October to have it ready for the end-of-year peak.
“As foreshadowed in the media release of 25 September 2023, this aircraft will be the third of four aircraft to be added to Rex’s domestic fleet this Financial Year as Rex expands its network steadily across all Australian capital cities and major towns,” said Sharp at the time.
“Just as Rex has demonstrated for the past two decades in over 50 regional cities, Rex will bring to the major cities a service that is reliable and affordable, delivered with true integrity and heartfelt country hospitality. We invite all cities that want to be part of the unparalleled Rex experience to contact us immediately.”
Rex also that month rolled out its Rex Flyer loyalty program in competition with Qantas and Virgin, with redemptions available for flights from mid-November and construction to begin “immediately” on new lounges in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Passengers can earn up to seven points for every dollar spent, with a last-minute “ultimate” flight from Melbourne to Sydney costing 7,400 points.
