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Next - REX Chair Lim Kim Hai claims ownership of the Village Idiot??
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Via the Oz:
Regional Express Airlines thanks government for ‘saving’ regional aviation
![[Image: 04b33e95c2ac7e269fbe1f52ba45a66f?width=650]](https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/04b33e95c2ac7e269fbe1f52ba45a66f?width=650)
Regional Express Airlines has lavished praise on the federal government for “saving the regional aviation industry” with more than $62m in grants for the carrier.
Announcing Rex’s results for the 2020 financial year, chairman Lim Kim Hai said the airline’s loss of $19.6m after tax was eased by grants from the Commonwealth, including the JobKeeper allowance.
He said the airline was “brought to its knees” by the COVID-19 crisis, with passenger numbers plunging 90 per cent in the last two weeks of March.
“On behalf of all regional aviation, I would like to place on record our gratitude to the
Morrison government and to the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack for their swift and decisive actions that have saved Australia’s regional aviation industry,” said Mr Lim.
“If they were to lose their essential air services, remote and regional communities would have been dealt yet another mortal blow following the devastating effects of drought, bush fires, floods and now the pandemic.”
The federal government grants included $53.8m from the $100m Regional Airlines Funding Assistance scheme.
Rex also picked up $3m from the Australian Airlines’ Financial Relief package and was in line for a further $40m under the ongoing Regional Airlines Network Support scheme between July and September.
The funds almost covered a $65m shortfall in passenger revenue, and a small decrease in freight revenue.
Mr Lim said Rex promised to give back to the community in the future “when it was strong again” in the form of new domestic routes servicing the “golden triangle” of Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
“In relation to our recently-announced plans to commence domestic jet operations in March
2021, we are excited at this next big chapter in Rex’s history and we see this as our way of
paying back to the community,” Mr Lim said.
“We believe that Australia deserves an alternative domestic carrier that is safe, reliable, convenient, affordable and, most importantly, one that can go the distance against the Qantas group.”
The operations would be funded by either a “sale and leaseback of aircraft” within the existing Saab fleet, or by other interested parties.
“Discussions with interested parties are continuing but are not yet finalised,” said Mr Lim.
In June the airline announced the board had approved plans to raise $30m for a fleet of five to ten narrow body jets to be based out of Sydney, to service Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
The significant grants paid to Rex were not received well by Virgin Australia, which went into administration in April with debts of $6.8bn after the federal government refused its repeated requests for financial help.
In June Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah wryly noted that Rex was “the only airline in the world to go from the brink of bankruptcy to announcing expansion plans during COVID-19”.
- “In relation to our recently-announced plans to commence domestic jet operations in March
2021, we are excited at this next big chapter in Rex’s history and we see this as our way of
paying back to the community,”
MTF...P2
Next - REX Chair Lim Kim Hai claims ownership of the Village Idiot??
(WARNING: High probability that a bucket will be required -
)Via the Oz:
Regional Express Airlines thanks government for ‘saving’ regional aviation
Regional Express Airlines has lavished praise on the federal government for “saving the regional aviation industry” with more than $62m in grants for the carrier.
Announcing Rex’s results for the 2020 financial year, chairman Lim Kim Hai said the airline’s loss of $19.6m after tax was eased by grants from the Commonwealth, including the JobKeeper allowance.
He said the airline was “brought to its knees” by the COVID-19 crisis, with passenger numbers plunging 90 per cent in the last two weeks of March.
“On behalf of all regional aviation, I would like to place on record our gratitude to the
Morrison government and to the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack for their swift and decisive actions that have saved Australia’s regional aviation industry,” said Mr Lim.
“If they were to lose their essential air services, remote and regional communities would have been dealt yet another mortal blow following the devastating effects of drought, bush fires, floods and now the pandemic.”
The federal government grants included $53.8m from the $100m Regional Airlines Funding Assistance scheme.
Rex also picked up $3m from the Australian Airlines’ Financial Relief package and was in line for a further $40m under the ongoing Regional Airlines Network Support scheme between July and September.
The funds almost covered a $65m shortfall in passenger revenue, and a small decrease in freight revenue.
Mr Lim said Rex promised to give back to the community in the future “when it was strong again” in the form of new domestic routes servicing the “golden triangle” of Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
“In relation to our recently-announced plans to commence domestic jet operations in March
2021, we are excited at this next big chapter in Rex’s history and we see this as our way of
paying back to the community,” Mr Lim said.
“We believe that Australia deserves an alternative domestic carrier that is safe, reliable, convenient, affordable and, most importantly, one that can go the distance against the Qantas group.”
The operations would be funded by either a “sale and leaseback of aircraft” within the existing Saab fleet, or by other interested parties.
“Discussions with interested parties are continuing but are not yet finalised,” said Mr Lim.
In June the airline announced the board had approved plans to raise $30m for a fleet of five to ten narrow body jets to be based out of Sydney, to service Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
The significant grants paid to Rex were not received well by Virgin Australia, which went into administration in April with debts of $6.8bn after the federal government refused its repeated requests for financial help.
In June Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah wryly noted that Rex was “the only airline in the world to go from the brink of bankruptcy to announcing expansion plans during COVID-19”.
- “In relation to our recently-announced plans to commence domestic jet operations in March2021, we are excited at this next big chapter in Rex’s history and we see this as our way of
paying back to the community,”
MTF...P2