Australian airports eager to court new budget carrier Bonza

Australian airports are being invited to woo new budget carrier Bonza in return for a place on the airline’s route map.

Budget carrier Bonza has invited airports to work with the new airline as it finalises its network.

Australian airports are being invited to woo new budget carrier Bonza in return for a place on the airline’s inaugural route map.

The US-backed Bonza, headed by former Virgin Blue alumni Tim Jordan and Rick Howell, aimed to be in operation by early-2022, flying routes currently not serviced by domestic carriers.

A total of 46 airports were invited to submit expressions of interest in Bonza’s services by November 15, with at least 35 indicating they intended to bid.

Mr Jordan said once all bids had been received, they would work through their final network in the hope of having flights on sale early in the new year.

He made no secret of the fact they were looking for low prices to help Bonza get off the ground.

“Bonza’s entry to the Australian market will bring more travel choices than ever to everyday Aussies and in turn stimulate demand for regional destinations that have traditionally struggled with perceptions like distance and cost,” he said.

“We encourage airports to work with us now on finalising our network.”

Sydney Airport declined to comment on whether it would be submitting a bid, but Canberra, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Darwin Airports all indicated they were in discussions with Bonza.

Carly Povey, Bonza's chief commercial officer.

Melbourne Airport was also expected to make a submission by November 15, while a Brisbane Airport spokeswoman said they were looking forward to working with “existing and future airline partners” to rebuild travel.

Cairns Airport was “evaluating opportunities they believed might suit the Bonza model” and would make a submission by the due date. Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport also confirmed their interest.

Canberra Airport CEO Stephen Byron said many businesses had been forced by Covid-19 to reset and virtually start over, which made Bonza’s entry into the domestic market timely.

He said their strategy of servicing new routes at low frequency was one that could work well.

“There are a number of routes we would like to see being operated from Canberra, so it will be interesting to see what Bonza comes up with,” Mr Byron said.

“We’re expecting to see significant demand for domestic leisure travel as the pandemic eases.”

Adam Rowe, chief commercial officer of Queensland Airports Limited which operates Gold Coast, Townsville, Mt Isa and Longreach airports, said there would be substantial opportunities for new routes to be added as travel normalised.

“There are still untapped opportunities for services to and from major cities like the Gold Coast,” Mr Rowe said.

“It is understandable that airlines are focused on places like the Gold Coast. It has been pleasing to see significant capacity added from the end of November.”

Bonza chief commercial officer Carly Povey was responsible for airport partnerships after starting with the airline on Monday following previous roles at Jetstar, easyJet and Jet2.com.

She said low-cost carriers delivered significant benefits to regional and local communities in the form of direct and indirect employment and an economic boost.

“I encourage airports to challenge themselves to provide the best possible deal to secure their own future,” Ms Povey said.

“It will help us not only with our launch network decisions but, critically, with a projection of future growth potential and partners prepared to support us as we stimulate additional leisure travel demand.”

Talks were also under way with state and territory governments about the location of Bonza’s headquarters, which Mr Jordan confirmed would be in a regional centre, mostly likely in northern NSW or southeast Queensland. Initially Bonza would operate two to three new Boeing 737 Max 8s, with the option of adding more.