Bonza prepares for takeoff with new slogan ‘here for Allstralians’

New budget carrier Bonza has a tongue-twister slogan to match its promise to bring leisure fares within the reach of all Aussies.

New budget airline Bonza has revealed its branding “here for Allstralia” as it inches towards takeoff.

New budget carrier Bonza has unveiled its slogan as “here for Allstralia” as it prepares to finalise its route network.

The US-backed airline headed by former Virgin Blue alumni Tim Jordan and Rick Howell, plans to be operating in Australia by mid-2022 using new Boeing 737 Max 8s.

Mr Jordan said the slogan captured “everything Bonza would be, in terms of bringing low fares to all of Australia, wherever you may be”.

“Our intention is to bring leisure fares within the reach of all of Australia and hence ‘here for Allstralia’ is what we need to be and what we shall deliver in coming months and years.”

An expressions of interest process seeking “best offers” from 46 airports, had been extremely successful with at least 38 responding, Mr Jordan said.

The process was complimented by a survey of thousands of “future customers” who signed up to learn more about Bonza online.

Mr Jordan said they were asked where they wanted Bonza to fly to and from, with a wide range of destinations selected, from Hobart to Broome and Busselton to Broken Hill.

“We’ve had requests for flights to all corners of the country proving that Aussies are keen to explore their own backyard,” he said.

“Our focus is firmly on providing leisure travellers more low-cost options for discovering new and especially regional destinations.”

Since Bonza announced its intention to enter the Australian market as an ultra low cost carrier flying routes currently not being serviced, Qantas and Virgin Australia have all expanded their network.

Qantas will add Newcastle-Adelaide and Wagga Wagga-Brisbane to its schedule from March 28, 2022, while Virgin will start flying between the Gold Coast and Cairns, Hobart and Launceston next month.

Mr Jordan said he did not think it was a coincidence so many routes that had not been flown in many years were suddenly opening up.

“It is quite interesting. Is Bonza already growing the market for routes in regional Australia and making fares cheaper?” he said.

“Maybe the Bonza effect is already at play.”

More announcements were expected in coming weeks, with Bonza still finalising its headquarters expected to be in southeast Queensland or northern New South Wales.

In a broad hint Bonza was not quite getting the co-operation it had hoped from local authorities, Mr Jordan he was “surprised at how long it could take to create jobs in regional Australia”.

“The process is ongoing. It’s been ongoing for a number of months,” he said.

“I’m hopeful we can reach a conclusion soon so that we can create welcome jobs in regional Australia.”

The first of Bonza’s Boeing 737 Max 8s was due to land down under in the first quarter of 2022, with the airline initially planning to operate just two or three aircraft.

At the same time Virgin Australia was preparing to beef-up its fleet of 737s to 84 aircraft, with the intention to add another seven of the narrow body jets in coming months.

In another positive sign for the airline industry, Virgin Australia also planned to stand up all staff from December 1, after a difficult 12-months of border closures and lockdowns.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the fleet growth underlined the confidence they had in the future of the business and the industry generally.

“We are really positive about travel restarting as borders open more fully,” said Ms Hrdlicka. “We have used our time well while the industry was quiet and are well advanced on all aspects of our transformation strategy and we fully intend to continue growing with demand to ensure we operate at roughly 33 per cent of the domestic market.”