AUD$100 million planes fulfilling Bonza’s ‘beautiful mission’

New budget airline boss Tim Jordan, chief executive of Bonza, has revealed the spark that triggered the creation of a new regional carrier – complete with $100m jets.

Bonza CEO Tim Jordan stands in front of the low-cost airline's first plane at Sunshine Coast Airport.

A light bulb moment standing on the veranda of his home sparked a dream which has resulted in the region’s next major airline – an independent discount carrier aiming to unlock unserviced regions.

Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan said a moment looking to the skies at home near Coffs Harbour provided the inspiration for the venture.

“I came back home to south of Coffs Harbour and stood on the veranda, looked skyward, saw an aircraft fly over head and thought, ‘this is crazy’, what we have just accomplished in the Philippines, enabling millions of people to fly, my neighbours, my community cannot afford to fly,” Mr Jordan said.

Bonza is the fourth time he’s been “lucky enough to do something similar” having most recently helped the largest low cost carrier in the Philippines Cebu Pacific “find its feet” having previously served as an administrator of Virgin Blue

Bonza CEO Tim Jordan stands in front of the low-cost airline's first plane at Sunshine Coast Airport.

Filling a growing demand for domestic travel and now with a fleet of four Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, Mr Jordan said he established Australia’s first independent low cost airline after seeing the “mismatch currently with what people earn and the airfares they pay”.

“People in capital cities earn more money, but pay the lowest airfares and in regional centres we earn less money and pay the highest airfares,” Mr Jordan said.

Made in Seattle, the planes were in storage during Covid before they were delivered to investment company 777, “who then kindly said ‘hey, here’s your aircraft’”.

Bonza airlines. Bonza's first direct flight the Sunshine Coast to Rockhampton on Tuesday 14 March. Picture: Supplied

Retailing for around $100m AUD each, the planes made their way across the Pacific from Seattle to Hawaii to Fiji and landed on the Sunshine Coast before Bonza’s inaugural flight from Maroochydore airport to the Whitsundays on January 31.

Fourteen years in the making, Mr Jordan entered a tightly held market by finding investors close to home and “overcoming a fear in Australia because the market is so dominated by existing operators”.

“Affectively just under 95 per cent of the market is under the control of two airline groups and that is a significant barrier to entry for many potential investors,” Mr Jordan said.

First Bonza flight from Townsville to Rockhampton

“Australia is the eighth-largest domestic aviation market in the world and when you look at the top 15 domestic aviation markets in the world, Australia was the only one of those 15 without an independent low cost carrier.

“That’s a fairly compelling strategic argument to say there is a gap in the market here in Australia.”

Bonza now flies to 12 destinations from the Sunshine Coast, with an additional flight to Tamworth to be added this Saturday which will be “available for $49 rather than a seven or eight-hour drive”.

“And that’s what we’re about,” Mr Jordan said.

“New market, new travel opportunities and doing what we all want do which is connect with our friends and family.”

Bonza airline CEO Timothy Jordan with family at Bonza’s first 737 MAX arrival in Australia at Sunshine Coast airport. Picture Lachie Millard

Describing the start up experience as “humbling” and the community’s response “encouraging”, Mr Jordan said he believes Bonza is “onto something very significant”.

“I’m lucky enough to be on the tarmac when customers are getting on and off the aircraft, and that’s when it becomes very worthwhile,” he said.

“It’s the boys’ weekends, the girls’ weekends, the trips being stimulated to see friends and families or people just going to visit a place they’ve not been able to get to before now, because it’s been too hard or too expensive or too time consuming.

“If that doesn’t have some impact on you, then you need to probably question your own existence.”

The lead-up to launch wasn’t without turbulence, with the fledgling airline’s executive manager departing three months after the airline first took off, while the airline took 15 months to secure its approvals to fly.

Despite this, its investors, Miami-based 777 Partners, appear committed to the aviation industry having recently purchased several Boeing 737 MAX class jets, and Bonza reported healthy seat numbers over the Easter holiday period on its regional routes.