DALLAS - Australian regional carrier Rex (ZL) has confirmed it is expanding its Boeing 737-800 fleet after signing a letter of intent (LOI) to lease two further examples.

Bringing the total number of 737s to nine, the two new airframes, on lease from Singapore Airlines (SQ), are expected to arrive in June and July this year.

Strong Performance

The airline began jet operations in March 2021 between Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD). According to Rex's Deputy Chairman Jon Sharp, these operations "have been performing very strongly and have been profitable in the past four months."

Indeed, in December, ZL revealed a pre-tax profit of AU$4m (US$2.8m). This followed an AU$2.8m (US$1.9m) profit in November.

Domestic Capacity

"The travelling public has been crying out for our reliable and affordable services in the light of the shameless price gouging by Qantas and these new additions will help to alleviate the situation," Sharp added. "We are still deciding where to deploy these additional aircraft and will explore all options."

Along with the 737s, Rex also operates 61 Saab 340s on 58 regional routes across Australia. It currently holds around 5% of the domestic market share and plans to grow these numbers as domestic passenger demand continues to increase.

Featured Image: Rex Airlines.