REX fail adds to regional woes

Outside the duopoly of Virgin and Qantas (with Jetstar included under the Qantas banner), remote and regional Australia relies heavily on smaller regional airlines to access essential services such as education, and healthcare.

These smaller airlines are also crucial social links for many isolated Australians, enabling them to visit friends and family and conduct business. They play a vital role in maintaining the social fabric and economic activity of remote communities.

The recent announcement that Regional Express Airlines (REX), has entered into voluntary administration is unsurprising to many. The airline's attempt to expand into the competitive commercial routes of Melbourne and Sydney is widely seen as a driving factor behind its collapse. Competing with the major airlines has led to the downfall of several carriers over the years, including Bonza and Tiger Airways.

REX holds the distinction of being the largest independent regional airline after the big two, boasting the world's largest fleet of SAAB 340 aircraft. This makes its potential collapse particularly significant for regional Australia, as it underscores the challenges smaller airlines face in a market dominated by powerful competitors.

For regional Tasmania, losing one player may not mean a total loss of access to air services as there are still other carriers in the market.  Locally owned and operated Sharp Airlines has already offered to step up and support the King Island community, saying on social media they would deploy additional crew and aircraft on short notice if required and support anyone facing hardship due to the current situation. 

However, any reduction in market competition will only result in greater demand for less frequent flights and higher prices. 

Travel anywhere regional is already a big cost with hefty price tags, and a reduction in players means greater profits for Virgin and Qantas and increased market control. 

As many political leaders have said it's about jobs, jobs and jobs. After the collapse of Bonza many staff were still owed millions of dollars. With REX over 600 jobs could lost directly, and of course any stop on services will have a broader social and economic impact beyond the farm gate. Remote communities rely on a supply of goods and our regions rely on the movement workers across a multitude of industries. 

In the long term, the greater risk for regional communities is affordability, to access essential services and for industry to access to a mobile workforce. It is vitally important to keep regional aviation competitive and affordable.