Regional airline REX is promoting holidays in Canberra via its direct flights when only one exists, from Melbourne. Aviation writer SCOTT MAYMAN explains the hassle to get here…
IN April 2021, REX introduced its Canberra-to- Sydney Service with great fanfare and promotion.
But by May 2022, the airline axed the direct flights, citing high airport charges in Sydney.
That left REX with only one flight to Canberra and it’s from Melbourne.
But what’s causing a stir is that REX this week promoted Canberra as a holiday destination.
This is great news for the city. However, the airline also promoted “REX flies directly to Canberra”.
This is only a half truth.
Have you tried getting to Canberra from the Gold Coast?.
In this example, there’s no direct service and you can’t connect via Sydney.
If you want to use REX, you’ll need to fly to Melbourne and stay the night before connecting to Canberra.
The return journey requires another overnight in Melbourne.
It’s a bit rich to promote Canberra as an ideal getaway, if there’s difficulty in flights. A Gold Coast service is just one example.
Upon further investigation, last week’s promotion was originally published in June 2021 which at that time was perfect because of the readily available connecting flights via Sydney.
Was it a re-hash? Was it published by accident?
Perhaps the REX promotions department needs to go back to the drawing board on its reviews and promotions, if the airline really does have its heart in the country.
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