Rex pushes new regional area in terminal to end buses
Billie Harrison
REGIONAL Express passengers flying to Adelaide can look forward to using the new terminal again soon.
Rex managing director Geoff Breust said the airline was working with Adelaide Airport to develop a long-term solution for regional passengers to avoid a long walk to and from the aircraft.
Mr Breust said the airline was hopeful work would start in the next 12 months to create a regional terminal as part of the new terminal next to the Rex check-in.
The taxi area would also be removed so Rex planes could park closer to the terminal, reducing the walk for passengers.
Currently Adelaide-bound Rex passengers get off the plane and board a bus, which takes them to the old international terminal.
Regional passengers departing Adelaide still check in at the new Adelaide Airport terminal.
The barrier dividing incoming and outgoing passengers in the walkway was taken down last week to increase the width of the walkway for outgoing passengers.
Mr Breust said the bus was working well and people were happy with this temporary system but Rex's aim was to return to the new terminal.
Rex was also keen to work with the Lower Eyre Peninsula District Council on the business plan being prepared for the Port Lincoln airport.
Lincoln terminal talks
Mr Breust was on Eyre Peninsula last week for discussions with the council about upgrading the airport.
Mr Breust said the current Port Lincoln terminal needed work, including more seating, a larger check-in and baggage handling area, and more storage.
The baggage collection process also needed to be looked at, he said.
Rex is looking at increasing services to Port Lincoln and including leaving a plane in Port Lincoln overnight for a 7am flight to Adelaide, which would enable better connections and a longer day in Adelaide.
"It's something we have under consideration," Mr Bruest said.
He said the key to growing the market was "incremental" increases in frequency of flights, rather than introducing larger planes with higher capacity.
"If you go to a 70-seat or a 95-seat aircraft that is a substantial jump.
"It's our belief that those sort of services are a long way off in reality."
Mr Breust said the introduction of larger aircraft like Embraer 170s or 190s, which Virgin Blue has recently purchased, would require significant upgrades to the taxiway, runway and terminal.
New hotel boost
He said the opening of the new hotel next year would be a huge boost for Port Lincoln and give Rex the ability to introduce more flights.
"We can go 12, 13, 14 services a day if we need to meet the demand."
Mr Breust was positive about the new Spencer Gulf Ferry because he said it would compliment air services by targeting a different market.
"I think it's a positive thing because the ferry will continue to open up the lower half of the Eyre Peninsula."
Rex's increased passenger numbers since Qantas left Port Lincoln has led to tightening up of baggage weight requirements, Mr Breust said.
"Right across our whole network we are carrying more people than we ever have," he said.
"Because there are a lot more people travelling we really don't have the space or capacity to uplift it all.
"We have a 15 kilo limit on all checked baggage and what we are doing is enforcing that quite stringently."
The airline is also charging for excess baggage as a deterrent and so people who do the right thing are not disadvantaged.
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