Sunshine Coast jobs: Bonza airline launches 100-position job drive

A new Sunshine Coast airline is launching a major recruitment drive set to inject between $8m-$10m into the region in wages as it prepares to take flight later this year.

One of the region’s newest major companies is about to launch a job drive set to deliver $8m-$10m worth of wages to the region.

Low-cost airline Bonza, which recently announced it would be based on the Sunshine Coast, this week started advertising 100 jobs in the region with an annual salary totalling between $8m-$10m.

Roles being recruited included cabin crew, cabin supervisors and network operators.

The airline is due to launch flights in September with 27 routes from 17 destinations around the country pencilled in.

Chief executive Tim Jordan said the new jobs marked a major step for the airline as it started to make its plans a “reality” on the Coast.

“This is now becoming very real,” Mr Jordan said.

He said the vacancies were “very appealing” nationwide as they allowed future employees to work and live on the Sunshine Coast, describing the region as “fast-growing”, “aspirational” and a “leisure” destination.

“This really is an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often,” he said.

Mr Jordan said he wanted future employees filling cabin crew roles to be kind, empathetic and “themselves” given they would be catering to a few “non-frequent flyers” and said he wanted people to “bring their personality”.

“We’re not going to be about business travellers,” he said.

Bonza, which has a second base at Melbourne Airport, planned to have two aircraft flying to 12 destinations from its home base at the Sunshine Coast Airport.

Destinations include Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.

Mr Jordan said the airline was expected to fill a “significant” gap in the market by offering flights to regional destinations from the coast given most of its routes weren‘t currently served by any airline.

Bonza’s first aircraft is expected to arrive next month with subsequent planes to create 40-50 jobs each provided the airline was well received.

Mr Jordan said the airline will launch with two operational aircraft in the region and a “spare” – describing this as a “significant investment”.

Bonza’s tentative launch date in September is subject to regulatory approval by Australian aviation body Civil Aviation Safety Authority.