Overview
If you were planning to fly with Bonza today, Tuesday, April 30, your travel plans have changed. The budget Australian airline has suspended its flights across the country — a move that the carrier says is short-term while it works out a plan to stay operational.
In a statement, Bonza CEO Tim Jordan advised that "Bonza has temporarily suspended services due to be operated today, as discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business".
"We apologise to our customers who are impacted by this and we're working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market," the statement continues.
When it launched in 2023 with the backing of US private investment firm 777 Partners, which also has a hand in Canada's Flair Airlines and the Southeast Asian-based Value Alliance, Bonza gave Aussies a new option for flying. Its angle: a low-cost carrier with a particular focus on opening up routes to more of the country's regional destinations.
It was in January last year that Jordan announced that the airline received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
"This is an historic moment for Australian aviation as we get ready to launch the first high-capacity airline in more than 15 years, and the country's only independent low-cost carrier," said Jordan at the time. "With the approval from CASA, 2023 is set to be the year of seeing more of your own backyard for less."
Since then, on planes given names as Aussie as the airline's itself — aka Bazza, Shazza, Sheila, Malc, Matilda and Bruce — Bonza has serviced locations such as Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and the Whitsundays in Queensland; Albury, Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Port Macquarie in New South Wales; and Melbourne, Avalon and Mildura in Victoria.
It operates out of two bases: the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport. Onboard, patrons tuck into an all-Australian in-flight menu, spanning both food and craft beer.
While Jordan's statement on Tuesday, April 30 only references suspending flights for that specific date, there's no word yet when the carrier will be back in the air. At the time of writing, the brand's website currently includes the same message.
For more information about Bonza, head to the airline's website.