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A source purportedly close to the Rex administration has said there have been “no obvious buyers” for the regional carrier as EY Australia continues the sale process.
The Australian has reported that no single buyer has come forward, according to the source, though a number of items – including a small house near Sydney Airport, the airline’s 737 flight simulator, and an inventory of spare parts – have been sold to provide some extra cash.
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The unnamed source told the newspaper that interested parties have looked at picking up charter airline Pel-Air, as well as the Rex flight training academy.
“Rex has always been a bit of a Frankenstein business that was put together, so it was somewhat inevitable the business would be broken up,” they said.
“It has also understandably been a slow process, but I think things are starting to move finally.”
Rex’s regional services have remained in operation since it entered administration at the end of July, despite the axing of its domestic jet flights using 737-800s and a limited number of National Jet Express E190s.
The federal government in August stepped in to guarantee regional Rex flights and safeguard its slots at Sydney Airport while the administrator searched for a buyer, with Transport Minister Catherine King indicating that the government does not want the airline to fail.
“I’m a bit surprised somebody hasn’t stepped forward because the business does make money, and I think the concerns around the fleet are somewhat overblown,” the source told The Australian.
“These Saabs have largely flown short distances over a long period of time so people like to talk about age in terms of years, but in terms of kilometres flown, it’s not that old a fleet.
“I think people might be waiting to see if the government might provide some sort of guarantees or support for the business to allow them to step in.”
The airline currently has a fleet of around 57 Saab 340Bs with an average age of 30.2 years. Thirty-four of these are in active service and the rest are parked. The administrator in September confirmed that six operational Saab 340s flying active routes were pulled from sale after being listed before the administration.
Rex has also been accused of stealing four Saabs from an Arizona boneyard in 2020, with American leasing and maintenance firm Jet Midwest suing the carrier in the NSW Supreme Court for allegedly stripping the planes for parts despite not having paid for them in full.
EY Australia declined to comment.
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says:One has to give credit when due and REX has been an asset to Oz Aviation, more so to the outback customer who depend on aviation for essential services which, is more often than not, forgotten by the other current companies because there is no fit in their operational balance sheet. Unfortunately, REX is now scheduled for the hereafter, don’t think there will be a rush for buyers but just to say, best wishes REX and thank you for your contribution.
Warren Whittaker
says:The “source” for this article has provided information that paints a picture of a young sustainable fleet of aircraft. Unfortunately those within the industry know that the life of an aircraft airframe are not based on kilometres flown. Maintenance is based on total flight hours and total landings (cycles). These aircraft must be approaching 40,000 hrs and a similar or greater number of landings. Engine core availability and parts are a problem, along with airframe and avionics parts. This is clearly demonstrated with Qantaslink replacing its entire fleet of aging Q200/Q300 aircraft, that have less hours on their airframes. The number of partially stripped SAAB 340 aircraft parked at Wagga Wagga Airport asks the question as to the sustainability of the SAAB 340 fleet. Then the following question must be asked, what would be the cost to a “new owner” to replace the SAAB fleet with the cheapest option .. ATR aircraft.