Rex has threatened to end services to King Island as a war of words between the airline and Mayor Marcus Blackie escalates.
Mr Blackie this week said he shared islanders’ frustration at recent high airfares.
“When we are ripped off we take it personally,” Mr Blackie said.
However, Rex said in a statement they believed the remarks were irresponsible and reprehensible and were purely political grandstanding at Rex’s expense.
“We call on the council to censure the Mayor for his flippant remarks that could result in severe economic damage to the local economy.
“Should official action not be forthcoming, we will no longer welcome Cr Blackie on our services, as we too take his baseless and self-serving remarks personally.
“In addition, we will review our ties with King Island.
“Rex understands there could be unsophisticated travellers who may have been shocked by the high fares especially if they did not pay attention to the routing of the travel.
“However, Rex is deeply disturbed by Mayor Blackie’s remarks.”
Mr Blackie yesterday said he was astouned at Rex’s personal attack and he stood by his comments.
“I am simply doing my job which is to represent ratepayers,” he said.
“Aviation passenger movement is our Highway 1, so it is critical that sufficient seat capacity, connection-friendly times and reasonable fare options are provided by all airlines servicing King Island,” he said.
“I remain confident of some significant breakthroughs in 2024,” he said.
Rex’s statement to the Courier said: “Rex’s record on its service to King Island is unblemished, having served the island faithfully and continuously for over 20 years and even right through Covid.
“Our average fare over the last 12 months for King Island to Burnie is a very low $185 excluding airport tax and GST.
The load factor on this route is a marginal 62 per cent.
“The high fare quoted for King Island to Burnie is not a surprise since Rex does not fly directly from King Island to Burnie on the date cited, which is a weekend. At weekends Rex only offers a non-stop service to Melbourne. When the passenger goes on the web to get a price to fly between King Island and Burnie on a weekend, the system finds the best possible connection which is King Island – Melbourne – Burnie, paying the full fare for each of the sectors.”
Angry King Islanders say a $1,200 to $1,500 airfare will currently get you one way from any Australian capital city to London, Rome or Hawaii and it’s less than half that to go nonstop to Japan, Fiji, Hong Kong and a third of the King Island Burnie REX fare cost if New Zealand is of interest.
Social media posters accuse Rex of increasing fares to coincide with return-to-school dates.
Only Sharp Airlines and Rex Airlines RPTs (Regular Passenger Transport) fly to mainland Tasmania from King Island and it has been observed that fares can randomly jump from $200 to $400 to $700- plus return for a fully flexible return fare.
Rex fares of $1000-plus appear on certain days, however, it should be noted that these fare oddities have a stopover listed which indicates the route is via Melbourne and the fare appears to be treated as two sectors, often with multiple hours of waiting to connect to King Island, or risk of an overnight stay.
Sharp Airlines CEO Alistair Dorward told the Courier they operate a simple airfare structure.
“Our published airfares remain fixed for the fare period and do not get increased based on demand.
“Our airfares are reviewed on a quarterly basis to consider items such as fuel costs and CPI,” he said.
“There have been a number of instances where we have elected not to pass on increased costs in order to keep our air fares as economical as possible for the communities that we serve. Our fully flexible one-way airfare from BWT to KNS is $270, our competitor’s equivalent fully flexible airfare is well in excess of this.
“Our holiday packages contribute a significant amount to local accommodation, transport, and tourism operators annually.
“We actively support many King Island community events and businesses through in-kind support. We are very fortunate to be able to serve the Bass Strait Islands and are proud of the service that we provide.
“We enjoy a strong relationship with the King Island Council and local businesses and remain fully committed to the KNS community in providing safe reliable air services at economical fares along with the substantial marketing, advertising, and selling of holiday packages to the island. Our winter schedule comes into effect from this week.”