Budget airline Bonza in chaos ‘for months’

Failed budget airline Bonza continued to sell tickets to passengers despite allegedly being in default on lease payments, documents reveal.

The administrators of failed budget airline Bonza discussed its parlous financial state with representatives of the company at least 11 times since November, new documents filed with ASIC reveal.

Bonza continued to sell tickets after first meeting with partners at accounting firm Hall Chadwick to discuss appointing them “as advisers to review the financial position of the company” on November 10, and throughout discussions and email correspondence that continued until last month.

The Bonza terminal at Avalon Airport. Picture: Alison Wynd

This includes continuing to sell tickets after April 17, which is when the administrators say Bonza received a notice from the owner of its fleet of six planes, AIP Capital, claiming it had defaulted on its lease.

Last week the administrators cancelled all flights until at least next Tuesday and stood down 302 out of Bonza’s 323 workers.

AIP Capital has seized the planes amid reports that at least some of them have already been re-leased to an airline in Poland.

Customers cannot presently get a refund from the airline - although those who paid using a credit card may be able to get it charged back.

“Administrators are still working with a number of key stakeholders to provide funding in order to resume flight operations and will continue to do so over the weekend,” the administrators said in a statement on Friday.

Grounded Bonza planes at Sunshine Coast Airport. Picture: Lachie Millard

Bonza’s directors appointed Hall Chadwick partners Richard Albarran, Kathleen Vouris, Brent Kijurina, and Cameron Shaw as administrators last Tuesday after AIP Capital terminated the aircraft leases overnight.

Details of meetings and phone calls between Hall Chadwick staff and Manish Raniga, the head of airline investments at Bonza’s owner, Miami-based investment group 777 Partners, are revealed in documents Mr Albarran filed with the corporate regulator on Friday.

As administrators, Mr Albarran, Ms Vouris, Mr Kijurina, and Mr Shaw are in charge of the two Australian companies in the Bonza group, Bonza Aviation and 777 Oz Holdco.

777 Partners co-founder Steve Pasko is a director of both companies.

Bonza Airlines has cancelled all flights. Picture: Mark Stewart

But the documents filed by Mr Albarran, declarations of relevant relationships and indemnities, also show that they were appointed administrators of a third Australian company where Mr Pasko is a director, Ops In A Box, on the same day as they took on the Bonza job.

In the declarations, Mr Albarran said this was not a conflict of interest because Ops In A Box is also owned by 777 Partners and “the nature of the relationship means that the appointments can be conducted more efficiently by the same appointee”.

The declarations show Mr Shaw was introduced to Mr Raniga by “an associate in the aviation industry” on November 9.

Mr Shaw and Mr Raniga spoke by telephone the following day.

On November 20 Mr Albarran and another Hall Chadwick staff member, Jovan Singh, met with Mr Raniga.

“During November 2023, January 2024 and April 2024, Mr Singh had nine calls with Mr.

Raniga, of which Mr Drew Townsend of Hall Chadwick, attended one,” Mr Albarran said in the declarations.

“During this time Mr Singh also exchanged numerous emails with Mr Raniga.”

The meetings, calls and emails “were for the purposes of discussing and understanding” Bonza’s business and to discuss hiring Hall Chadwick as “advisers to review the financial position of the company” or “consultants to assist with an investment and/or acquisition proposal for the company”.

Hall Chadwick was not paid for the discussions, Mr Albarran said.

Sources say KordaMentha and PwC also ran the ruler over Bonza before its collapse.

Hall Chadwick declined to comment.

Originally published as Budget airline Bonza in chaos ‘for months’