Doing business or taking a holiday in South Australia has just become even easier with the addition of extra Rex flights into Adelaide today.
The inaugural Adelaide-Brisbane Rex Airlines service will provide an additional 124,000 seats a year between the two cities, increasing access into SA from Queensland - the state's third largest interstate visitor market.
The flights also boost the state's connectivity through Rex Airlines' network, with the new flights linking South Australia daily to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
It also helps capture a greater share of the national domestic visitor expenditure, which is currently worth $8.9 billion to South Australia.
Prior to the pandemic, 875,000 people flew between Adelaide and Brisbane each year - offering more connections to Queensland, our third largest domestic market and worth almost $500 million per year to our economy.
Today's announcement is on the back of big news earlier this month of increased international flights into Adelaide.
Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways both confirmed additional capacity into Adelaide, boosting their services from yesterday, and Singapore Airlines also adding an extra four flights per week over the summer.
Batik Air Indonesia will commence services to Indonesia on 8 November (adding to their existing Malaysian operations). The airline has announced four new weekly services from Denpasar to Adelaide from November. Batik Air will be SA's first international carrier serving multiple direct destinations.
Vietnamese carrier VietJet will also begin five services a week later this month - the first time any Vietnamese airline has included Adelaide as a regular destination.
Eight international airlines currently operate 45 flights each week to Adelaide, with additional capacity already confirmed for the coming months. The international incoming flights are currently bringing just over 11,000 passengers each week into SA. The new international routes also create new business and trading opportunities for South Australia.
Domestic airline capacity has almost returned to pre-COVID levels, with Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex Airlines operating a total of 515 domestic flights to Adelaide per week equating to 82,690 seats.
Treasurer, Stephen Mullighan said increased flight capacity is a great result for tourism and investment in South Australia.
"Strong growth in interstate and international expenditure over the year helped drive the state's visitor economy from $6.1 billion at June 2022 to the current level of $9.9 billion, an increase of $3.8 billion in just 12 months," Treasurer Mullighan said.
"It is essential that we continue to strengthen our relationships with leading airline providers and pursue new opportunities for South Australia to secure new airlines, increase number of flights and reinstate flights that link South Australia with key tourism markets interstate and international business hubs."
Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said the State Government is focused on growing tourism and making sure South Australia is front and centre for Australians considering a holiday.
"It is great news that we can add another interstate flight into Adelaide, which gives both visitors to South Australia and those doing business in our state more opportunities to get here, discover our state and contribute to our economy," Minister Bettison said.
"More capacity will assist our strong tourism sector and help capitalise on the significant amount of South Australian events ahead.
"Tourism has never been stronger, with our visitor economy now worth a record high $9.9 billion - an increase of $3.8 billion in just 12 months.
"There is huge competition across the states and territories to get a bigger slice of the tourism pie."
Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Brenton Cox congratulated Rex on its inaugural Adelaide-Brisbane service, further strengthening aviation links between the two cities.
"Rex has made an immediate impression on Australia's domestic market, and today's launch comes on the back of the strong demand we've already witnessed on services from Adelaide to Melbourne and Sydney," Mr Cox said.
"Rex has long been a strong supporter of the South Australian aviation market and we're delighted that its domestic expansion is making a tangible difference and offering our customers more choice."
REX Deputy Chairman, John Sharp AM said the new flights operated by a Boeing 737-800NG will provide an additional 124,000 seats a year between Brisbane and Adelaide.
"Prior to the pandemic, 875,000 people flew between these two cities. Our forward bookings on Adelaide-Brisbane indicate that passengers are already embracing Rex's outstanding record of operational excellence," Mr Sharp said.
"Rex's national average on its domestic fleet was nearly 80% for On Time Departure, with a cancellation rate of only 0.2%."
