Newcastle Airport has dismissed claims Rex flights between Sydney and Newcastle will be reduced as part of a network review prompted by plummeting profits.
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A spokeswoman for the airport said there would still be three Regional Express services a day to Sydney and one to Ballina under the new schedule, which is set to start in October.
Earlier on Tuesday, Regional Express' chief operating officer Neville Howell announced a wide-ranging network review triggered by a plummet in profits over the past two years.
He said the review into several of the airlines most marginal NSW routes was prompted by ‘‘two consecutive years of steep profit declines, which saw the airline’s profits plummeting by 75 per cent’’.
Mr Howell said the network review was the second phase of an overall strategy to improve profitability, following an earlier announcement of redundancies across the group.
‘‘Several routes on the NSW network carry heavy losses and the situation is no longer tenable,’’ Mr Howell said. ‘‘The board has ordered a review to either drop or reduce services on our most marginal routes.
‘‘Management was able to gain board approval to maintain services to all routes but with capacity reduced to better match demand. To improve operating efficiencies some routes are being linked with another port.’’
Areas affected include Taree, Grafton and Lismore.
