Rex joins Qantas and Virgin as the third airline operating between Perth and Melbourne.
Australia’s largest independent regional airline, Rex, is set to introduce new flights between Melbourne and Perth in June, a move the airline promises will offer “more choice, reliable service and more competitive fares” for those travelling the popular east-west route.
The service is expected to fly five times per week, with one-way economy fares from A$299.
“When more airlines compete on a particular route, consumers benefit and our record in the domestic markets speaks for itself: Rex delivers terrific value for money,” Rex General Manager Network Strategy Warrick Lodge said. “Rex consistently outshines its domestic rivals in on-time performance and cancellation rates, and when travellers are booking a route of this distance and duration, reliability is paramount.”
The budget carrier, Australia's reigning airline of the year, will deploy Boeing 737-800 planes, each of which seat up to 176 passengers, effectively contributing nearly 90,000 additional seats annually to the transcontinental route.
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Perth Airport’s Chief Commercial and Aviation Officer Kate Holsgrove said the announcement was a major win for the airport's passenger traffic, especially given its record-breaking year in 2023, and bodes well for tourism in both states.
“Currently Rex operates four successful regional services within Western Australia,” Holsgrove said. “The introduction of Rex’s first interstate routes from Terminal 2 is a sure sign of their confidence in the Perth market. This gives Western Australians more options for travel and we look forward to working with the Rex team to ensure the new routes are successful.”
The Melbourne to Perth route will extend Rex's domestic services to 11, complementing its existing Boeing 737 fleet's operations to prominent Australian destinations such as Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and the Gold Coast.
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