Budget carrier Bonza unmasks leadership team

New budget airline Bonza has unveiled a heavyweight leadership team to help guide the carrier to success.

Bonza Airlines’ chief commercial officer Carly Povey has previously worked with a number of airlines, including Jetstar.

New budget airline Bonza has announced several key appointments as the carrier moves closer to getting airborne.

With the backing of US private investment firm 777 Partners, the low cost airline aims to be operating in Australia by mid-2022 on a network of yet to be announced domestic routes.

Bonza CEO Tim Jordan said the winning recipe to any success story was people, and he was delighted to announce his leadership team to take the airline forward.

Former Swissport vice-president of airports and commercial Peter McNally has accepted the role of Bonza chief operating officer, bringing extensive airline experience to the job.

Like Mr Jordan and Bonza chairman Rick Howell, Mr McNally was part of Virgin Blue’s early management team, overseeing the airline’s operations for seven-and-a-half years.

He also had stints at Qatar Airways, India’s IndiGo and Airnorth in Queensland, before joining ground services provider Swissport in 2019.

Peter McNally will take on the job of chief operating officer for Bonza. .

Australia Post executive Carly Povey is set to join Bonza next week as chief commercial officer, in a return to aviation.

After starting her career at a UK regional airport, Ms Povey took on roles with a number of budget carriers, including Jet2, easyJet and Tigerair and Jetstar in Australia.

In her new position, Ms Povey will be responsible for Bonza’s brand, marketing, communications and customer channels as well as network and scheduling, product and pricing.

Another member of the team, Lidia Valenzuela, began with Bonza recently as chief financial officer, after 15 years in finance leadership roles with companies such as Superloop and BPay.

Mr Jordan said the new members were “wholeheartedly committed to making a real difference to travellers and communities in Australia”.

“Peter, Carly and Lidia are up for the challenge to do things differently, while also creating an environment our people and partners can feel proud to call home. I’m delighted to have them on board,” Mr Jordan said.

Bonza plans to begin flying with just two or three brand new Boeing 737 Max 8s, and upscaling as demand grew.

Airfares are expected to be 30 to 40 per cent lower than those currently in the market, with passengers facing additional charges for everything from seat selection to checked baggage.

The carrier aims to fill the gap left in the market by the demise of Tigerair, and open up air travel to people who previously considered the cost of flying out of reach.

Mr Jordan said their goal was to “grow the pie” of air travellers rather than take marketshare off existing operators, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Rex.