Even with the arrival of new Boeing 737s, the Australian airline Rex maintains its confidence in its Saab 340 for regional flights. It is not in the company's planning to remove these aircraft from operation, even with just over 26 years of use.
Rex's Saab 340 plays an important role for the company, as it is the aircraft that connects major Australian cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane to smaller cities with airports with shorter runways. These connections are important as they transport doctors and other health professionals to smaller cities.
In addition to doctors and other healthcare professionals in Australia, there are also government officials from various bodies who use Rex flights.
“They are the brightest aircraft, andthey are very economical. They are very strong and robust aircraft and will last a long time yet..” Rex Vice President John Sharp said.
In 2020 Rex and ATR signed a memorandum for new ATR 72-600 aircraft to complement the Saab 340 fleet. more than 34 seats, twice the current capacity.
"We are very pleased to be able to cooperate with such a large and proven company like Rex. It is vital that communities and businesses can continue to thrive thanks to regional routes, and we believe the ATR range of aircraft provides a sustainable and reliable transport system for airlines and the regions they serve.” Said Fabrice Vautier, Commercial Vice President of ATR.
“They are brilliant for regional flights, one to two hour flights, they are very good at that. We are good at maintaining and operating them. Theoretically, we could go on for another 10 to 15 years with the Saabs because they still have enough life left.”
“Like all these things, it will be the cost of maintaining them versus the cost of buying new ones. The second part will be the demand. If we really find that these routes grow so much that we need to put in bigger aircraft, then we will.”
“Saab offers small, economical flights that provide frequency and frequency provide convenience and convenience bring more engers.” Concluded John Sharp.
Rex currently has 44 aircraft in its fleet, of these, 38 are Saab 340s. The remainder are all Boeing 737-800s with an average age of 14 years.
