Bonza Airlines best on-time arrivals for January 2024

After a bumpy year in the skies, Bonza have proudly announced top on-time arrivals in the first month of 2024.

The first Bonza flight from Melbourne lands at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport on April 17, 2023.

Hoping for a less turbulent year, Australia’s only independent low-cost carrier Bonza has proudly announced recording the best on-time arrivals for January.

It comes a year after airline received its approval to fly from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and started flying between Toowoomba Wellcamp and Whitsundays, Townsville, and Melbourne in April 2023.

Federal government data from January 2024 showed Bonza at the top of the leaderboard with 78.4 per cent of flights arriving on time, a press release from the company pointed out.

“During January, Bonza’s on-time departure performance was also at 78 per cent while January cancellations were at 3.3 per cent, heavily driven by cancellations associated with Cyclone Kirrily which, if removed, would drop the cancellation rate to just 1.2 per cent for the month,” it said.

The company is striving for a near perfect performance and the figures were a positive step in the right direction, said Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan.

“Being a young airline, we certainly have more to learn, but we know that on-time performance is critical to every customer whether travelling to see friends and family, heading off on holiday or going to a meeting,” said Mr Jordan.

Bonza CEO Tim Jordan (centre) with members of the cabin crew at the first flight by the carrier from Melbourne to Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport.

“We have learnt and vastly improved from our December 2023 cancellations and OTP, which mostly arose from the well publicised delays in receiving regulatory approval related to aircraft operating out of our new Gold Coast base.”

In October Bonza marked a 0.3 per cent cancellation rate, September 0 per cent and August 0.6 per cent, the press release said.

“Being top of on time arrivals for five of the past six months comes from a lot of hard work and focus from our Bonza Team and our vital operational partners, and we will continue our mission to bring a positive change to the Aussie domestic aviation industry,” Mr Jordan said.

Within the 10 months the airline has been flying from Toowoomba, the journey has not be easy.

In June 2023, a nationwide pilot shortage forced the airline to cancel 4 per cent of past flights, and at least seven future trips, across its network.

The 4 per cent cancellation result, which was described as “too high” by the company, is double the long-term industry average.

A month later in July, the airline hit a major speed bump, cutting its original route to Whitsundays, and dialling back from four to three weekly flights between Melbourne Tullamarine and in December 2023 the company experienced regulatory approval delays from expanding flights at the their new Gold Coast base.