Summary
- Bonza overcame regulatory delays to launch low-fare nonstop services from Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast to Darwin, making travel more affordable.
- Bonza CEO Tim Jordan looks forward to expanding the airline with new bases, more 737 MAX 8s, and creating jobs in the NT.
- In its first year, Bonza saved customers AU$125 million by offering affordable flights to multiple destinations across Australia.
Starting a new airline is no easy task, and almost without exception, there are some serious hurdles to overcome along the way for every new carrier. Australia’s newest airline, Bonza, had a charmed run for most of 2023 as it launched 38 routes to 21 destinations, but regulatory delays in getting its two wet-leased Flair Airlines 737 MAXs into service was one such hurdle that turned into a significant setback.
Overcoming a setback
The two Boeing 737 MAX 8s wet-leased from Canada’s Flair Airlines were needed to get the new base at the Gold Coast Airport up and running in time for the holiday season and to launch the much anticipated low-fare route to Darwin. That hurdle has been left behind as just after midnight on Wednesday, Bonza’s inaugural flight touched down in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in the Top End of Australia.
While the distances are not huge, traveling from the Gold or Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) to Darwin has often been a costly and time consuming expedition, but that is now a thing of the past with Bonza’s low-fare nonstop services from both airports fully operational. The new twice-weekly nonstop Gold Coast – Darwin route complements Bonza’s existing routes in and out of the Northern Territory (NT), with services from Melbourne Tullamarine to Alice Springs and from the Sunshine Coast to Darwin.
Photo: Bonza
Over the next five days and to launch the latest route, Bonza is offering more than 5,000 seats on all flights to/from the Gold Coast to Darwin from just AU$89 ($60) one-way for travel until the end of May 2024, with regular one-way fares to the NT starting from AU$149 ($100). Bonza CEO Tim Jordan said that with school holidays on the horizon, he looks forward to seeing its customers surfing on the Gold Coast or relaxing on a sunset cruise along the Timor Sea.
“We’re Australia’s only independent, low-cost airline and we’re working hard to bring more choices for Gold Coast and Darwin customers with the introduction of affordable flights between these two iconic locations.”
More Bonza expansion in 2024
As is happening in most Australian states, the NT government is supporting airlines and airports to recover from the pandemic, and Jordan thanked the government for its Territory Aviation Development Scheme, which he said will create jobs, boost NT tourism and “increase competition in the NT skies, which is a win for all travellers.”
Photo: Bonza
Bonza’s expansion is set to step up a notch this year, with the airline expecting to add a fourth operating base to support the current ones at the Sunshine Coast Airport, Gold Coast Airport and Melbourne Airport. It is also planning to add more 737 MAX 8s and finish the year with a fleet of ten, with Jordan saying he will have more to say on adding new aircraft “when the time is right.”
Bonza marked its first anniversary in February by announcing it has saved its passengers AU$125 million ($84m) by delivering on its promise of making travel more affordable and accessible. In its first year, Bonza carried more than 750,000 customers to 21 destinations across the country, with 84% of those routes not served by any other airline and 89% not served by a low-cost carrier.
Have you flown on a Bonza 737 MAX 8? Let us know in the comments.