Bonza releases Melbourne flights to regional centres

After much anticipation, Australia’s newest budget carrier has finally released its remaining 12 flight routes which will connect Melbourne to various regional airports.

Bonza is a new domestic airline. Picture: Alex Coppel

Bonza has finally unveiled its remaining 12 flight routes including the highly anticipated routes connecting Melbourne to nine regional centres across Australia.

The latest routes, which went on sale on Thursday via its Fly Bonza app, include flights to and from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport to Mackay, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Mildura, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Tamworth and Toowoomba Wellcamp.

There are also flights to and from Toowoomba Wellcamp to Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast as well as a route connecting Tamworth and the Sunshine Coast.

There will be two flights each week to and from Melbourne to Mackay starting on May 23, 2023 with sales prices at $89 per person one way.

The cheapest of the new routes are to and from Tamworth to the Sunshine Coast at $49 per person one way.

Bonza chief commercial officer Carly Povey said it was a huge moment for Aussie travellers as the airline delivered on its promise to “make air travel accessible to the many, not the few”.

“Millions more Aussies have the chance to book a low cost flight to see a loved one or explore their own backyard,” Ms Povey said.

“As a proud Melbournite, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to fly directly to regional destinations to catch some winter sun in Queensland or explore the wine region of Mildura.”

The Bonza airline was announced in 2021 and had initially planned to start flights in 2022, however its launch was delayed because it only received Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval in January 2023.

The company announced its first locations in January with 13 destinations, 10 of which have never been serviced from the Sunshine Coast previously.

It has since rolled out 27 routes across 17 destinations.