Budget airline Bonza launches mission to paint the skies purple

Bonza has made it into the sky with its first commercial passenger flight, after already notching up 10,000 ticket sales.

Bonza’s team of “legends” welcomes passengers aboard. Picture: Tony Gough

Low cost carrier Bonza has made it into the sky with its first commercial passenger flight, as the airline attempts to carve out a new market among budget-conscious leisure travellers.

After more than a year of planning and preparations, Bonza’s purple “thumbs up” livery made a colourful addition to the Sunshine Coast Airport apron, the airline’s Boeing 737 Max 8 sitting a comfortable distance from rivals Jetstar and Virgin Australia.

Already notching up 10,000 ticket sales, chief executive officer Tim Jordan said flights from their Sunshine Coast base to an array of regional destinations were filling up fast.

Having previously taken budget carrier FlyArystan from inception to profitability in Kazakhstan, Mr Jordan was confident of repeating that success in Australia despite misgivings throughout the industry about the size of the aircraft Bonza was using on regional routes.

On Tuesday, Mr Jordan conceded they would need to fill most of the 189 seats on the Max 8s most of the time, in order to turn a profit, given fares were as low as $49 one way.

“Not every seat is available at those levels but a good number are and the business model works if we offer those fares. We must offer low fares,” Mr Jordan said.

“We look at airline seats as the ultimate perishable item – as soon as the aircraft pushes back, that’s a lost opportunity. So we will be aiming to use as many seats on board as we possibly can even if it’s $10 or $20 someone gives us, that’s $10 or $20 we wouldn’t otherwise have and we think that’s great for the wider community as well.”

Miami-based alternative investment platform 777 Partners was backing Bonza, and providing the airline’s fleet of new Max 8s, three of which have been delivered.

Another two were due to arrive in coming months, providing capacity for nine routes out of Melbourne.

Mr Jordan said they would like to include Sydney in their network as well but the costs associated with operating out of Kingsford Smith were out of the reach of the budget airline.

“They’re not that keen to come to the table or maybe they don’t see the opportunity,” said Mr Jordan.

“Melbourne Airport stepped forward, and we can offer a point of difference in that market, nine routes initially, seven of them unserved by any other airline. Now if Melbourne can do that, I’m sure Sydney will realise we can offer something different in that market

“We’re quite enthusiastic about Sydney but it has to be at the right price.”

A Sydney Airport spokesman said they would be “delighted” to see Bonza operating from Australia’s biggest gateway.

He said the problem was the airport was “the most constrained and regulated airport in the world” which meant there was very limited capacity during peak periods.

“Demand during peak periods is also very high and that, combined with inefficiencies in the way the current system operates, makes it hard for new entrants to access slots,” the spokesman said.

Inefficiencies included the so-called “hoarding” of slots, with Virgin Australia retaining places allocated to now defunct budget partner Tigerair.

The issue was a source of contention for not only airport management but other airlines such as Rex which found it difficult to schedule flights in peak times.

Deputy director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism, Gui Lohmann said Bonza faced a number of challenges to succeed in the competitive Australian market.

As well as a low frequency of flights, Dr Lohmann said Bonza’s network was made up of mainly regional centres with relatively small populations.

“The biggest question is the biggest question is whether there’s demand beyond the Gold Triangle (of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane),” said Dr Lohmann.

“Melbourne is a very big market but a lot of the destinations are leisure type destinations that tend to be quite seasonal.”

He said Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia also loomed as formidable rivals, in the event Bonza did gain slots at Sydney or competed directly on certain routes.

“It’s going to be a challenge. Qantas has spare 737s sitting around but with only a few aircraft in its fleet it will be difficult for Bonza to maintain its schedule if one plane can’t fly,” Dr Lohmann said.

“It’s probably a good business model in the wrong place. I’m not convinced price alone will be enough to fill those aircraft.”

Mr Jordan said competition in any industry was positive and Bonza would put downward pressure on fares which climbed to 15-year highs late last year.

Regular flights were scheduled to start flying out of the Sunshine Coast from February 14, following Tuesday’s inaugural flight to the Whitsundays.

Bonza Airline lands at Avalon Airport. Picture: Tony Gough