New Bonza airline reveals app to book flights including to Townsville

Bonza Airline has announced a revolutionary way its customers will book their flights but a date for takeoff is yet to be announced.

In what Bonza says is an Aussie-first, customers will book their flights through an app or a travel agent only – once the airline gets off the ground.

The low-cost airline has been promising to deliver cheap flights between regional cities including Townsville for almost a year.

The carrier is still awaiting approval and has not confirmed a date for takeoff.

The airline’s chief executive Tim Jordan said the move to app and travel agent-only booking was to ensure Bonza had a direct line of communication with customers through in-app messaging.

“What we want to do is have as many people as possible through our app because it allows us to give a better service to our customers, especially when things go wrong,” he said.

He said the app booking concept was a first for an Australian airline.

First Bonza 737 aircraft lands in Australia. Photo supplied Escape 7 August 2022 doc holiday

The chief executive said Bonza also wanted to work with local travel agents because the industry had “done it tough” in the past three years and travel agents provided a great service to clients.

He said Australians had learned a lot about apps over the past three years.

“We’ve all got used to checking in on our phones and we’ve become a little more app savvy,” Mr Jordan said.

The chief executive would not confirm a date for takeoff and said the airline was going through a process with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

“We are working our way through a very long to-do list but progress is ongoing,” Mr Jordan said.

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman said the airline was aiming for a mid-October approval but that was subject to “the clarification” of several issues.

“We continue to work on the air operator’s certificate application filed by Bonza in April,” he said.

“A new AOC is a complex and detailed process to ensure Bonza meets the aviation standards expected by Australian travellers.”

Originally published as New Bonza airline reveals app to book flights including to Townsville