Lim Kim Hai, Executive Chairman of Regional Express (Rex), CAPA's Regional Airline of the Year, continued to make a case for "moving 180 degrees away from conventional airline wisdom." Celebrating the fact that his airline defies the accepted norm that a carrier must be large to make significant profits, he noted that Rex is, "in a sector that's not sexy, not glamorous, a fact that helps keep the threat of new entrants low."

 

A speaker who frequently states that the key to his carrier's success is that is it "run like a business, not like an airline", Mr Lim pointed to other areas in which bigger is definitely not better. Relying on a fleet of – no longer in production – Saab 340s, he says that he will keep the aircraft operational for another 10 years and will not seek to grow his average aircraft size to lower unit costs.

"The key to our success is our frequency, which allows us to attract business people and keep yields high," he notes, adding that one of his best markets is home to 15,000 people, but the small size of his aircraft allows Rex to serve it a remarkable eight times each day. "We're in a sweet spot right where we are," he says. "To get bigger would be a mistake."