Bonza Airlines reduces routes to focus on quality
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Budget airline Bonza, known for its affordability, has made the decision to temporarily close five routes in order to make bigger strides forward. This comes as a setback for budget-conscious air travellers who were attracted to the airline's rapid growth since its launch earlier this year.
Starting with an impressive 27 routes across 17 destinations in January, this Sunshine Coast-based airline quickly made a name for itself in Australia's competitive budget airline market. However, despite its initial success, Bonza's soaring journey has hit a temporary snag due to unforeseen challenges.
Speaking to customers, Chief Commercial Officer Carly Povey revealed the destinations the company would no longer be servicing:
'But we also know that in the past couple of months, not everyone has had a good experience with Bonza, and we need to stare directly into why that is—specifically when we cancel or delay flights.'
It looks like the company is taking a step back to work on making those high-flying dreams of luxury budget air travel a reality by ceasing service to five under-active routes and redistributing their fleet of four aircraft to higher-demand areas.
Bonza hopes that by cutting these routes, they will be able to not only improve the frequency and reliability of their other services but build additional capacity within their small fleet of four aircraft and prepare to open up more job opportunities and roll out new routes in the future.
Bonza has stated that those customers affected by the cancellations will be able to get a full refund (or alternate flights, depending on their situation)—so if you had any plans to travel to one of the five affected destinations, be sure to check in with your carrier and find out what your options are!
The routes will be cut from August 1. For the remaining 22 routes, flights can only be purchased until October.
The entry of Bonza into the air travel market was welcomed by the competition watchdog ACCC, who saw it as a chance for the industry to enhance services for consumers and reduce airfares.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stated in June that the airline's launch was a positive step for competition. However, she also acknowledged that Bonza's market share is small, and there are obstacles to its growth.
The announcement regarding Bonza comes just a month after Rex Airlines, Australia's largest regional carrier, projected a loss of $35 million for the current financial year. This unexpected decline comes as a surprise, as earlier forecasts had anticipated a profitable outcome.
Tony Webber, a renowned aviation expert and former Chief Economist at Qantas, stated that the Bonza air travel model, which focuses on connecting regional towns, was inherently difficult from the beginning.
'I'm not surprised ... they're very small population catchments, and to get them to work, you need very high travel propensity,' Mr Webber said.
'They're relying mostly on it being a heavy leisure market and being able to stimulate that with a lower fee. It was almost inevitable that they [affected routes] won't work… because the demand has to be really high.'
Members, have any of you had the opportunity to fly with Bonza Airlines? If so, we'd love to hear about your experience! Also, we'd like to read your opinions on the company’s decision to discontinue five of its routes. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Starting with an impressive 27 routes across 17 destinations in January, this Sunshine Coast-based airline quickly made a name for itself in Australia's competitive budget airline market. However, despite its initial success, Bonza's soaring journey has hit a temporary snag due to unforeseen challenges.
Speaking to customers, Chief Commercial Officer Carly Povey revealed the destinations the company would no longer be servicing:
- Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour,
- Sunshine Coast to Port Macquarie,
- Sunshine Coast to Tamworth,
- Cairns to Mackay,
- and Toowoomba to the Whitsundays.
'But we also know that in the past couple of months, not everyone has had a good experience with Bonza, and we need to stare directly into why that is—specifically when we cancel or delay flights.'
Bonza is cutting five routes and reducing frequencies for some flights. Credit: Facebook/Bonza.
It looks like the company is taking a step back to work on making those high-flying dreams of luxury budget air travel a reality by ceasing service to five under-active routes and redistributing their fleet of four aircraft to higher-demand areas.
Bonza hopes that by cutting these routes, they will be able to not only improve the frequency and reliability of their other services but build additional capacity within their small fleet of four aircraft and prepare to open up more job opportunities and roll out new routes in the future.
Bonza has stated that those customers affected by the cancellations will be able to get a full refund (or alternate flights, depending on their situation)—so if you had any plans to travel to one of the five affected destinations, be sure to check in with your carrier and find out what your options are!
The routes will be cut from August 1. For the remaining 22 routes, flights can only be purchased until October.
The entry of Bonza into the air travel market was welcomed by the competition watchdog ACCC, who saw it as a chance for the industry to enhance services for consumers and reduce airfares.
ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb stated in June that the airline's launch was a positive step for competition. However, she also acknowledged that Bonza's market share is small, and there are obstacles to its growth.
The announcement regarding Bonza comes just a month after Rex Airlines, Australia's largest regional carrier, projected a loss of $35 million for the current financial year. This unexpected decline comes as a surprise, as earlier forecasts had anticipated a profitable outcome.
Tony Webber, a renowned aviation expert and former Chief Economist at Qantas, stated that the Bonza air travel model, which focuses on connecting regional towns, was inherently difficult from the beginning.
'I'm not surprised ... they're very small population catchments, and to get them to work, you need very high travel propensity,' Mr Webber said.
'They're relying mostly on it being a heavy leisure market and being able to stimulate that with a lower fee. It was almost inevitable that they [affected routes] won't work… because the demand has to be really high.'
Members, have any of you had the opportunity to fly with Bonza Airlines? If so, we'd love to hear about your experience! Also, we'd like to read your opinions on the company’s decision to discontinue five of its routes. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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