Australia’s Rex to add B737s in mid-4Q20

Rex – Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga) has confirmed it has signed dry-lease agreements with two lessors covering a total of six B737-800s that are due to deliver between November 2020 and February 2021. The airline said its first Boeing narrowbody is due to arrive on November 1, 2020. Rex is adding the B737s as a part of its plan to expand from its traditional regional niche into Australian mainline domestic routes. The carrier will launch its first such service, from Sydney Kingsford Smith to Melbourne Tullamarine, on March 1, 2021, with additional routes to focus on major airports due to be added after that. “Three of these aircraft will be deployed in the first phase of our launch on March 1, 2021, on the Sydney – Melbourne route, with another two aircraft beginning service before Easter. From there, Rex will continue to grow the domestic fleet in line with the return of passenger demand and hopes to see its fleet of B737-800s reach ten by year-end,” Deputy Chairman John Sharp said. Rex spokesman Ben Worsley would not comment on the exact identity of the aircraft for the time being, but confirmed that they are ex-Virgin Australia stock. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, five ex-Virgin Australia B737-800s have recently been de-registered from Australia by AerCap and remain stored at Goodyear (four) and Brisbane Int’l (one) airports. Multiple other B737-800s that are technically still in Virgin Australia’s fleet have been inactive since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic with many of them expected to be phased-out. Rex’s current fleet encompasses fifty-seven Saab 340 turboprops of various subvariants.