PPG supplied Rex Airlines with various aerospace coatings for six Boeing 737-800 aircraft that will expand the airline into domestic service.
For the aircraft’s fuselage, tail and engine cowlings, Rex Airlines selected PPG DESOGEL EAP-9, which is a chromate-free conversion coating and adhesion promoter; PPG DESOPRIME CA7700BE epoxy primer; and PPG DESOTHANEHD 9008 basecoat-clearcoat system. The wings and horizontal stabilizers were coated with PPG DESOTO 515X349 exterior primer, which is formulated to protect aluminum and composite substrates from corrosion; PPG PR-1432-GP corrosion-inhibitive elastomeric coating; and PPG Desothane HS CA8000 topcoat system.
“Rex Airlines applied PPG Desothane HD CA9008 basecoat-clearcoat system on our fleet of Saab 340 aircraft, which is the largest Saab fleet in the world,” said Png Yeow Tat, Rex Airlines general manager, engineering. “This innovative technology provides excellent colour and gloss retention and outstanding appearance compared to a direct gloss system, leading the airline to use this system and other PPG products on our B737 aircraft.”
Managed by parent company Regional Express, Rex Airlines is a long-standing PPG customer and the largest regional airline in Australia with more than 60 destinations. Despite being greatly impacted by the pandemic, the airline will commence domestic jet operations in March 2021, starting with services in the golden triangle of Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
“We are proud that Rex Airlines selected PPG’s innovative paint systems for its expanded fleet of narrow-body aircraft,” said Mark Ingram, PPG account manager, aerospace, Australia. “With our local manufacturing capabilities in Australia, we have the unmatched ability to meet the needs of regional companies like Rex Airlines and Douglas Aerospace, who assisted with the aircraft painting.”
With more than 30 years of aircraft painting expertise, Douglas Aerospace is a family-owned and -operated aircraft paint service company headquartered in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
“The robust application properties of PPG’s aerospace coatings, especially the high-gloss, buffable basecoat-clearcoat system, made them the ideal products for the livery repaint,” said Simon Clarke, Douglas Aerospace production manager. “We look forward to our ongoing collaboration with PPG and Rex Airlines.”
PPG’s global aerospace business offers coatings, sealants, adhesives, transparencies, packaging and application systems, and transparent armour, as well as chemical management and other services. For more information, visit www.ppgaerospace.com.
Rex Airlines is Australia’s largest independent regional and domestic airline, operating a fleet of 60 Saab 340 aircraft (pre-COVID) on 1,500 weekly flights to 59 destinations throughout all states in Australia. Rex will begin its domestic services with six Boeing 737-800 aircraft in March 2021. In addition to Rex Airlines, the Rex Group comprises wholly owned subsidiaries Pel-Air Aviation (air freight, aeromedical and charter operator) and the two Australian Airline Pilot Academies in Wagga Wagga and Ballarat. To learn more, visit www.rex.com.au.
Douglas Aerospace is a family owned and operated aircraft paint service company that was founded in 1979 in Tocumwal. Now based in Wagga Wagga, Douglas Aerospace has more than 30 years of aircraft painting experience, providing high-quality refinishing for general, corporate, cargo, commercial and military aircraft, as well as helicopters. Douglas Aerospace is a CASA Part 145 approved aircraft maintenance facility in Wagga Wagga, but the company also provides offsite aircraft printing support in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth. To learn more, visit www.douglasaerospace.com.au.
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