Jake Nelson

Robert K. ‘Kelly’ Ortberg, who has an engineering background and over 35 years of aerospace experience, will replace Dave Calhoun after the latter announced his exit in March. It comes as airlines such as Virgin Australia grapple with a shortage of Boeing aircraft.

Around 600 Rex workers are expected to lose their jobs after the airline went into administration on Tuesday night, with the United Services Union saying administrators told them they will also miss out on entitlements despite Rex’s regional operations continuing to trade.

The 8pm trans-Tasman service will move to 7:30am from November, offering more convenient connections with international flights leaving Sydney for destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul.

Qantas Group released a statement on Wednesday morning, after Rex entered administration and dropped its jet operations, calling it a “challenging day for our industry”. Customers will have until 31 August to contact Qantas or Jetstar to rebook.

According to the TWU, administrators have said 360 Rex domestic jobs will be made redundant and 250 regional jobs are also facing the axe.

Speaking to ABC Radio National on Wednesday morning, the minister said the airline is “incredibly important” for regional travel but stressed that the government can’t step in and save Rex “at any cost”.