The administrators of insolvent Regional Express Holdings Limited, trading as Rex - Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga), say they have received several well-funded offers for the airline and will apply to Australia's Federal Court for more time to sell the company.

The administrators from Ernst & Young advised the Australian Stock Exchange of the progress in a June 17 filing, saying: "Over the past few weeks, the administrators and their advisors have assessed these offers and been able to narrow the bidder field to continue progress negotiations with a view to achieving a successful transaction - these bidders are well-funded and see real value in the business and its future."

Regional Express Holdings and other companies within the group filed for voluntary administration in July 2024. The current court-imposed deadline to sell the business or move to liquidate it is June 30, 2025. However, the administrators say they will ask the court to give them until December to sell Rex.

Anchorage Capital Partners and HMC Group, which operate Aviair (GD, Kununurra) and Nexus Airlines (GD, Kununurra), are reported to be among the interested parties. The newspaper The Australian reports that a Renaissance Partners offer to relocate Rex's base to Canberra, convert its debt to equity, and maintain the company's stock market listing, was rejected by the administrators as unviable.

Rex continues to operate its scheduled turboprop flights to regional and remote airports. According to ch-aviation Commercial Aviation News, Operator & Airport Data, it is operating over 1,000 flights weekly with over 35,500 seats. The airline flies to 52 airports, primarily in Australia's eastern half. Its short-lived B737-800 flights, one of the key causes of its financial woes, no longer operate.

The Australian government has worked closely with Rex's administrators to keep the airline operating. In addition to taking over debts of AUD50 million Australian dollars (USD32.5 million) held by major Rex lender PAG Asia Capital, the government has also provided AUD80 million (USD52 million) in loans to the administrator to ensure Rex stays in the air.

This week, Transport Minister Catherine King said the government would provide another AUD30 million (USD19.5 million) if the court extends the sale deadline, as well as continuing to guarantee ticket sales.

"The government remains committed to maintaining access to aviation services for regional and remote communities that are essential to their health, education and economic outcomes, and we recognise the critical role of the Rex network to local economies," the minister said.

She added that while the government was not participating in the sale process, it was "undertaking necessary work on contingencies should a market-led solution not be achieved."