By Alex Crowe
It was quieter than usual on Tuesday morning inside Avalon Airport, about 60 kilometres south-west of Melbourne, after passengers flying Bonza from Queensland had their flights cancelled.
With the afternoon return flight also cancelled, passengers flying from Avalon to the Sunshine Coast were left stranded. Meanwhile, at Melbourne Airport, frustrated Bonza passengers tried to book last-minute flights with other airlines.
“Everything’s just been such a rush”: Allison Sigmund with granddaughter Elsie Harris at Melbourne Airport.Credit: Jason South
Tracey Hilbert arrived early for her flight to Gladstone, Queensland, only to be told at check-in that the flight was cancelled, with all Bonza aircraft grounded as the budget carrier considers the viability of the business.
Hilbert said the communication from ground staff had been terrible.
After rushing to book tickets with other airlines, Hilbert said she was now down about $1000 and said Bonza should compensate her.
“A two-hour flight has turned all day,” she said. “Given the circumstances that it is … it’s bad.”
‘We’ve spent more than an hour and 45 minutes on the phone to Jetstar trying to get a flight and had almost no contact from Bonza.’
Allison Sigmund
Allison Sigmund arrived at Melbourne airport with her granddaughter Elsie Harris and daughter Dana Harris, only to find Dana’s flight to Tamworth had been cancelled.
After spending a few days in Melbourne so Elsie could meet her 86-year-old great-grandmother for the first time, Sigmund said the end of their trip had been “insane”.
She said travelling with an 11-month-old was hard enough for her daughter without having to contend with cancelled flights.
“Everything’s just been such a rush. We’ve spent more than an hour and 45 minutes on the phone to Jetstar trying to get a flight and had almost no contact from Bonza,” Sigmund said.
Harris said the cancellation meant she had to instead fly to Sydney and then take the day off work on Wednesday to travel by road to Tamworth.
She said her grandfather was driving half the 5½-hour trip, and her husband would do the other half.
Harris said the airline had opened up travel for her, and it was sad to think regional areas could again be disconnected.
“I was singing their praises on the way down,” she said. “It is very disappointing. It makes the country a whole lot more inaccessible again.”
Sunshine Coast resident Jenny Roberts said six family members and friends, including her son who is in the Defence Force, had booked with Bonza to visit in June.
“I am cranky. We can’t wait around for [Bonza] to make up their minds. They were coming to the Sunshine Coast for a 21st birthday event, and now we will have to arrange for them to go to Brisbane and be collected,” Roberts said.
“What about those poor people today? I really feel for them. Having a flight cancelled because it broke down, compared to having it cancelled because they weren’t making any money, are two very different things.”
The Sunshine Coast resident said getting a refund was “wishful thinking” but hoped the airline would offer compensation.
“It is quite annoying. Bonza knew that breaking into the market would be hard work. It doesn’t happen overnight; you have to build trust and respect,” she said.
“They have destroyed that. The right thing would have been to honour the flights for the next month. Now they have no respect, no honour and no chance of coming back.”
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