The airline used 737’s to fly between Australia’s capital cities, while using Saab340 aircraft for regional operations. Rex has entered into an agreement for Virgin Australia to honour Rex’s cancelled prepaid tickets at no additional cost. The administrators are also looking at the possibility of Virgin selling Rex’s regional services through codeshare or interline agreement.

Speculation had been swirling around the airline after it entered a trading halt on the Australian Stock Exchange. This followed reports on the weekend that the company was looking at bringing in a turn around team from Deloitte. Earlier today reports were circulating that the airline would enter administration with EY being appointed as the administrators.

Some media reports indicated that some Rex staff were locked out of their hotels and staff Uber accounts due to unpaid bills.

Regional Express began in 2002 in the aftermath of Ansett’s collapse. Former Ansett subsidiaries Hazelton and Kendall were bought and merged to create Regional Express. Regional Express was later rebranded as Rex. The company only operated regional flights before they entered the inter-capital city market in 2021.

Earlier in the day Australia’s Transport Minister, Catherine King said the department had been having discussions with the airline. The minister told local media,

We’ll wait for Rex to make an announcement … but can I say very, very clearly, the government is in no doubt about the importance of regional aviation and Rex to regional aviation. We will work with Rex, we want to make sure that they have a future as part of aviation in this country, and we’re very determined to make sure that happens. We obviously don’t want to do that at any cost, we want to be involved very closely in what that future might look like.

In response to Rex announcing the immediate suspension of its 737 jet operations, Virgin Australia will support impacted Rex customers with rebooking on an equivalent Virgin Australia service free of charge. All requests for rebooking need to be made by 14 August 2024. Rex…

— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) July 30, 2024

There has been tension inside the board of the airline with former Executive Chair Lim Kim Hai being forced out in June. Lim is the airline’s biggest shareholder and has been pushing for his replacement, former Transport Minister John Sharp and three other directors to be removed from the board with a planned special shareholders meeting.

Rex holds a 5% share of Australia’s airline market. The administration comes after Bonza collapsed earlier this year.

Full information from rex can be found on it’s website: rex.com.au/AboutRex/OurCompany/DomesticFlightUpdates.aspx

Virgin itself entered administration in 2020, was sold and is now profitable.

Statement from Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka
This is a difficult moment for Australian aviation with Rex entering voluntary administration and announcing the immediate suspension of its 737 jet operations. It is also a reminder of the challenging nature of our industry.

Our team is now moving quickly to support Rex’s customers and people.

Impacted Rex customers will be supported with rebooking on an equivalent Virgin Australia service free of charge. Customers will need to contact Virgin Australia before 14 August 2024 to take up this offer.

Rex customers with imminent travel in the next 48 hours should contact the Virgin Australia Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89. Those travelling outside 48 hours should visit the Virgin Australia website to complete a rebooking form.

Virgin Australia is also offering support to Rex employees who may be impacted by today’s announcement. People whose employment has been affected should visit the expression of interest form on our website to apply for open positions.

Recognising the importance for regional Australians to have access to a comprehensive domestic and international network, Virgin Australia also intends to partner with Rex’s regional business to enable seamless access to Virgin Australia’s domestic and international destinations through potential codeshare or interline arrangements in the future.

The team at Virgin Australia are thinking about everyone at Rex today, an airline with a proud and important role in Australian aviation, particularly for regional Australia.

The post Australia’s 3rd largest airline grounds 737 fleet and enters administration appeared first on AIRLIVE.

The Boeing 737-800 with registration N862NN was preparing to operate flight AA1716 bound for Dallas with 143 passengers and six crew members. 

However, while it was parked at gate 45, it was struck by the garbage truck. As a result, the B737 received damage to its left wing trailing edge.

The collision caused the plane to shake, and a piece of the garbage truck was left wedged in the wing of the aircraft which was significantly damaged. All those on board disembarked safely and returned to the terminal.

Footage shared on the internet shows a portion of the garbage truck stuck on the aircraft’s wing. 

“During boarding of American Airlines flight 1716 from Greensboro, NC (GSO) to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), a vehicle made contact with the wing of the aircraft.”

American Airlines spokesperson

“All customers and crew members onboard deplaned and returned to the terminal, and the aircraft has been taken out of service for maintenance. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” continued the statement.

The post American Airlines Boeing 737 struck by garbage truck in North Carolina appeared first on AIRLIVE.

The Boeing 737-800 with registration 9M-MXU was operating flight MH199 from Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur with 138 people on board. However, the B737 suffered an engine failure during the climb.

A series of sparks and flames were seen coming from the affected engine. Following the issue, the crew leveled off the aircraft at 29,000 feet and returned to Hyderabad. 

The aircraft circled for roughly ten minutes before initiating a safe landing back at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 3:21 am.

Thankfully, all people on board, including both passengers and crew, disembarked safely. The cause of the engine issue remains under investigation by Malaysia Airlines and aviation authorities. 

Social media has seen the circulation of video, possibly filmed by a passenger, that appears to show sparks coming from the engine.

The post Malaysia Airlines #MH199 Boeing 737 suffers engine failure during climb-out appeared first on AIRLIVE.

Ryanair flight #FR655 departed Glasgow at 08:37 BST for a 3-hour flight to Malaga, Spain.

The flight was operated by a 18-year-old Boeing 737-800 (registration EI-DLI).

Only 15 minutes after takeoff, the crew stopped the climb at 6,000 ft and declared an emergency (squawk 7700).

Pilots maintained the altitude and entered an hold for 30 minutes for the crew to deal with flaps issue.

The aircraft finally landed at 06:56 GMT on the Northern runway of Dublin airport and was met by emergency vehicles.

The flight was cancelled. The aircraft is currently at gate 7 and is scheduled to perform flight #FR4844 later today from Dublin to Milan.

The post Ryanair #FR655 to Malaga declared an emergency and diverted to Dublin following flaps issue appeared first on AIRLIVE.

Among the 10 injured, including the pilot, passengers were evacuated from the burning aircraft. Some recounted scenes of “complete panic” as they sought safety.

The Air Sénégal flight, operated by TransAir, was en route to Bamako, Mali, late Wednesday, carrying 79 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew when the incident occurred at Blaise Diagne International Airport, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Dakar.

The cause of the Boeing 737-300 catching fire and skidding off the runway remains unclear. According to the minister, the injured individuals received treatment at a hospital, while the others were relocated to a hotel for rest.

Passenger Remarks

Malian musician Cheick Siriman Sissoko, who captured the passengers’ harrowing experience on his phone, described how they leaped down the emergency slides amidst flames engulfing one side of the aircraft, with screams echoing around.

“My life flashed before my eyes,” Sissoko, 39, recounted from the hotel where passengers were recuperating. “I thought about my mother, my wife, my kids.”

He added, “Only one side’s slide opened, causing complete panic during the evacuation.”

Ibrahim Diallo, a 20-year-old Malian citizen onboard, revealed that the plane had previously attempted to take off that night but encountered difficulties.

“The pilot assured us that everything was under control and we would attempt takeoff again,” Diallo said. “However, smoke emerged from one of the wings during the second attempt.”

Air Sénégal released a statement on the social media platform X, announcing the rescheduling of flights between Dakar and Bamako.

This marked the third incident involving a Boeing aircraft this week. The same day, Turkey’s transportation ministry also reported safely evacuating 190 individuals from a plane in Turkey after one of its tires burst while landing at a southern airport.

The post TransAir Boeing 737 crashed and caught fire injuring 11 people appeared first on AIRLIVE.

The 1991-built Boeing 737-3Y0F with registration 9S-AKK underwent cargo conversion in 2005 and sustained substantial damage.

The cargo aircraft overshot the runway, and this led to the temporary closure of the airport while authorities removed the aircraft and ensured safety.

The details surrounding the cause of the excursion are still under investigation. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries or fatalities.

The airport closure caused some flight disruptions, with a Brussels Airlines flight from Luanda forced to hold and divert back to its origin.

N’djili International Airport resumed normal operations approximately one and a half hours after the incident following the removal of the aircraft.

The post Serve Air Cargo Boeing 737 suffered runway excursion in Congo appeared first on AIRLIVE.

Flight UA381 departed Washington IAD at 08:33 EDT and declared an emergency inbound Austin, Texas.

The Boeing 737-900ER (registration N39463) performed a go around on runway 36R at Austin.

The pilot squawked 7700 (general emergency) due issue with the flaps. The aircraft circled at 3,000 ft for a while for check list before attempting a second landing.

UPDATE 12:05 CDT
The flight is given priority landing on runway 36L.

UPDATE 12:08 CDT
The Boeing 737-900ER safely landed and vacated the runway.

UPDATE 12:09 CDT
Emergency vehicles are checking the brakes.

The post United Airlines #UA381 is declaring an emergency inbound Austin appeared first on AIRLIVE.

On the morning of Jan. 26, as two Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle to Hawaii departing six minutes apart experienced a tail strike.

The pilots of each flight felt a slight bump and the flight attendants at the back of the cabin heard a scraping noise. As the noses of both Boeing 737s lifted skyward on takeoff, their tails had scraped the runway.

Both planes circled back immediately and landed again at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The incident grounded both flights and forced a temporary shutdown of Alaska’s flight activity nationwide.

Horrifyingly, investigators have now discovered that a software glitch was responsible for the incident. According to the Seattle Times, the tailstrikes occurred largely as the result of a bug in a program sold by a Swedish firm called DynamicSource.

The program is supposed to deliver “crucial weight and balance data” that pilots enter into their flight computers to help determine stuff like “how much thrust the engines will provide and at what speed the jet will be ready to lift off.”

The data [delivered] was on the order of 20,000 to 30,000 pounds light. With the total weight of those jets at 150,000 to 170,000 pounds, the error was enough to skew the engine thrust and speed settings.

Both planes headed down the runway with less power and at lower speed than they should have. And with the jets judged lighter than they actually were, the pilots rotated too early.

The post REPORT Two Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 tail strike incidents were caused by a software glitch appeared first on AIRLIVE.

The Boeing 737-800 with registration ZS-FGE was operating flight FA212 from Johannesburg to Cape Town. During takeoff from runway 21R at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport (FAOR), the aircraft’s left outer main gear wheel separated.

Following the separation of the wheel, the crew discontinued their climb at 22,000 feet and entered a holding pattern to burn fuel.

After roughly 190 minutes airborne, air traffic control visually confirmed the missing wheel. The pilots then executed a safe emergency landing back on runway 21R at OR Tambo International Airport. 

Unfortunately, the landing resulted in further damage to the rim of the remaining wheel assembly.

Thankfully, there were no injuries reported among the passengers or crew on board. The incident did, however, cause delays at the airport as crews worked to clear the runway.

Aviation authorities are currently investigating the cause of the incident.

Featured Image via JACDEC

The post FlySafair Boeing 737 loses wheel on takeoff from Johannesburg appeared first on AIRLIVE.