Australian carrier Rex has launched a new route between Melbourne Airport (MEL) and Devonport Airport (DPO) in Tasmania. By adding this route, the airline has broken the current monopoly held by Qantas, which operates 27 weekly flights between these two cities.

New route

On Friday, Rex held the inaugural service between Melbourne and Devonport in a morning flight that was greeted by a traditional water cannon welcome and a host of dignitaries. Rex operated the flight onboard a Saab 340B, registration VH-ZXS. This aircraft has a capacity for 33 passengers in a single cabin; Rex has 57 Saab 340Bs, one Saab 340A, and six Boeing 737-800s in its fleet.

This route will be operated twice daily, bringing tourism and most-needed connectivity to the North West and surrounding regions in Tasmania. In the past, Rex and its predecessor Kendell Airlines had already operated a commercial service to Devonport, flying from Melbourne between 1989 and 2005.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said, “this is a fantastic vote of confidence in Tasmania’s strong tourism industry, especially for the North West and surrounding regions. The direct flights will provide more options for travelers and additional capacity to meet demand and has been warmly welcomed by the Tasmanian community, tourism, and business operators.”

A Saab 340B from Rex landing in Devonport, Tasmania.
Rex has launched a new route between Melbourne and Devonport, Tasmania. Photo: Rex.

Third destination

Devonport is Rex’s third destination in Tasmania. The airline already operates frequent services to Burnie and King Island from Melbourne. Moreover, Rex is looking to add more destinations on the Apple Isle, and it is currently in discussions with other Tasmanian airports.

Rex operates 13 flights between Melbourne and Burnie and seven between Melbourne and Kings Island. Overall, of the 538 weekly flights to all Tasmanian airports (Burnie, Devonport, Flinders Island, Hobart, King Island, and Launceston), Rex has a 7.8% market share. Jeremy Rockiff added,

“Tasmania’s tourism industry is one of our greatest success stories, with nearly 300,000 visitors to the State in April, May, and June, and the highest spend for any June quarter on record.

These new flights will maintain this momentum and further encourage visitation to the North West and surrounding regions, ensuring the benefits are spread into our regional areas.”

A Saab 340B from Rex landing in Devonport, Tasmania.
Photo: Regional Express/Rex

Booming Rex

In the last few months, Rex has been increasing its size, following a healthy performance in July. The airline recently announced it is expecting to have a bumper 2023 financial year, and for the first month of the new financial year, it had a pre-audited base passenger revenue of AU$31.5 million ($21.6mn).

To cope with the hot demand, Rex confirmed earlier this month that it would induct another Boeing 737-800NG this month. You can read more about this plane in this article. Rex expects two more 737-800NGs to join VH-MFM by the end of the year, taking the airline's total Boeing 737-800 fleet size to nine.

Additionally, Rex confirmed earlier this week that it will take over National Jet Express (NJE) but will keep it as an independent brand. Rex is buying National Jet Express from Cobham Aviation Services Australia (Cobham) for about AU$48 million ($33.2 million). NJE is a leading provider of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) charter services to remote resource operations, freight operations from Sydney across Australia, and an air charter operator in Papua New Guinea.