Australians have been forced to pay up to 95 per cent more for domestic flights after the collapse of regional airline Rex Airlines, it has been revealed.
An investigation by the Australian Consumer Commission has revealed that with Rex ceasing flights to metropolitan areas in July as it went into voluntary administration, average ticket prices for those destinations have risen.
This situation has arisen due to the fact that Australian airlines traveling between cities including Adelaide, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Canberra are no longer offering concessionary fares to passengers.
It is said that due to the absence of Rex, there are fewer airlines for passengers to choose from and other companies have hiked ticket prices.
The Consumer Commission said revenue for airlines flying these routes rose by 13.3 per cent in the year to last September.
Passengers could no longer get the low fares provided by Rex Company from other companies and due to the departure of that company, the reduced seat capacity of airlines has also caused the fares to rise.
A 6 per cent drop in seat capacity also led to increased competition and higher ticket prices as Rex suspended 11 services to major cities, it said.
Air fares between Adelaide and Melbourne have risen by 95 per cent to $296, while tickets from Melbourne to the Gold Coast have risen by 70 per cent to $432.
It is also reported that the fares from Canberra to Melbourne have increased by 54 percent to $298 between July and September.
