Ann: Chairman's Address to Shareholders , page-6

Its an interesting company, very tightly run. I think that the unbelievable flak it has put its way has made it even more determined and strong.

A few years ago, many of its pilots were poached away by other airlines. Their answer was to set up their own training school, which I think paid off very well.

More recently Qantas* has used nuclear weapons on them, but they still bounce back, and as one of their execs said to me a few days ago, 'we will just sit pat for now doing what we do best'.

*This has left me open-mouthed as I watch Alan Joyce complain bitterly to the government and anyone who would listen, about the precise tactics that Qantas has used on Rex. But few people are aware of it, except those close to the situation.

They provide a service to many inland centres that is very valuable. The bigger centres of Dubbo, Tamworth and Wagga are basically the capital cities of vast surrounding areas, with business, medical, and legal people the main users. Various professionals can visit these places for a few hours to do their business, mainly because of Rex's frequent services. Where Qantas has no competition, frequency goes down and prices skyrocket.