Rex says all frontline staff are now vaccinated

Regional Express (Rex) has reached its goal of having all frontline staff vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 1. The several hundred vaccinated staff include pilots, flight attendants, customer service officers at airports as well as other workers across the Rex domestic and regional networks who may need to interact with passengers face-to-face. The airline said 93 percent of all Rex staff have either been double vaccinated or received their first dose. READ: Airlines welcome two-way travel bubble READ: Warnings about 5G on aircraft systems  READ: Qatar Airways gets green light for UK flights “Our employees have overwhelmingly supported the introduction of our Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy to ensure the health and safety of our staff, passengers, contractors and visitors,”  said Rex deputy chairman John Sharp. “I would like to thank each and every one of our team members for the way in which they have so quickly responded since work on the Policy began in earnest in mid-September. "It was fully implemented in just a few weeks and enabled us to meet our vaccination target date of November 1.” Rex reopens its domestic network on November 15 with the resumption of Boeing 737=800 flights from Melbourne to Sydney and Canberra. Melbourne - Adelaide flights restart on November 26, while flights to the Gold Coast from Sydney and Melbourne begin on December 17. Rex grounded its 737s after Australian domestic borders closed due to the surge of COVID cases but said climbing vaccination rates and easing restrictions had prompted its decision to bring the jets back into service. Prior to the surge in COVID cases, Rex operated 737 services from Melbourne to Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Canberra and from Sydney to Gold Coast. it has been competing against the Qantas Group and Virgin Australia but is set to face an additional market entrant when proposed ultra-low-cost carrier Bonza launches next year. Bonza has yet to reveal route details or fares but has said it plans to avoid the highly competitive Brisbane-Melbourne-Sydney triangle. Instead, it will focus on regional and leisure destinations with a focus on underserved destinations or those that have previously been ignored by incumbent airlines.