Rex to drop Townsville-Mackay service

Domestic airline Regional Express (REX) will exit a North Queensland route that was
recently the subject of a complaint to the competition watchdog regarding the
behaviour of a Qantas carrier servicing the route.
The airline said on Friday it would stop flying between Townsville and Mackay On
January 1 next year, blaming the "predatory practices" of its competitor on the
route Qantaslink.
REX started operating the service from October 1 this year and earlier this month
lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
regarding Qantaslink's pricing practices.
REX general manager of network strategy and sales Warrick Lodge said the current
fares and capacity on the route made continuing to fly between Townsville and Mackay
"simply not sustainable".
"After almost three months of determined effort we have been forced to acknowledge
that our competitor's predatory practices have been effective," Mr Lodge said in a
statement.
"REX is nevertheless proud to have been the catalyst for more frequencies, capacity
and lower fares and we advise the local community to be vigilant so that these
benefits are not reversed the moment Rex leaves."
In its complaint to the ACCC, REX said Qantaslink dropped its entry level fares by
35 per cent to $99 and added about 40,000 annual seats on the route in response to
Rex commencing flights between the two cities.
Meanwhile, REX said Qantaslink's equivalent fares on the Mackay to Rockhampton
route, where there was no alternative carrier, remained at $135 and were recently
increased to $140.
The airline operates eight flights a day between Townsville and Mackay.
REX said passengers booked on flights after January 1, 2010, were entitled to a full
refund.