Rex executive chairman takes a swipe at Qantas following acquisition announcement

Rex executive chairman takes a swipe at Qantas following acquisition announcement
By James Harrison


Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai has taken a shot at Qantas following the purchase of National Jet Express (NJE), the regional services arm of Cobham Aviation Services Australia.

Lim said that Rex has managed to achieve a positive gross return of 2.9 per cent over the last 14 years, whereas Qantas showed a negative 1.9 per cent.

“In fact, over the last 18 years, Rex made more absolute accumulated profits than Qantas!” Lim said

This came as the executive chairman was outlining his airline’s success in acquiring NJE and its performance during the GFC and the COVID pandemic.

NJE focuses on Fly-In-Fly-Out activities within Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“As we now officially complete the purchase, I would like to pay tribute to the sellers, Advent International, which have prepared the sale in the most meticulous and professional way I have ever seen in my life,” Lim said.

Lim paid tribute to the NJE executives and staff who ran the business successfully over the last two years despite the turbulence caused by the pandemic and the uncertainties the world is facing today.

“There is no better operator of air services in Australia than the Rex Group, be it for reliability or financial performance,” Lim said.

“Rex will overlay this financial and operational prowess on NJE’s core strengths to transform it to be Australia’s premier FIFO operator. Resource companies all over Australia can now count on a modern, comfortable and environmentally-friendly fleet for their FIFO needs instead of relying on 30-year-old Fokker 100 aircraft used predominantly by the other operators.

“In anticipation of the surge in demand for NJE’s services, we are looking to lease immediately another two De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 NextGen (NG) aircraft to add to its fleet. We will continue to invest in new aircraft and technology to grow the business, especially in Queensland where resource companies have been facing severe issues with capacity and reliability in recent years.

“We look forward to meeting the NJE staff in the coming weeks to discuss our plans in more detail and I’m sure NJE will play an important role in Rex’s success going forward,” Lim concluded.

Featured Image: Supplied by Rex

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