Spotted among the Airbus and Boeing widebodies at Melbourne Airport yesterday was Bazza, one of the four 737 MAX 8s flying in Australia, all operated by Bonza. Bazza was there to mark the opening of Bonza's first capital city base and to get things moving on the first flight to the Sunshine Coast.

Bonza has already been flying the MAX 8s into Victoria on its service in and out of Melbourne Avalon Airport, which commenced in February. The new base at Melbourne International Airport (MEL) will be home to two aircraft and their pilots, cabin crew and support personnel. The other two Boeing 737 MAX 8s will live in the lush surrounds of Queensland's Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY), Bonza's backyard since its inception last year.

Bonza Launch at Melbourne Airport MEL
Photo: Bonza

Bonza is opening unserved routes from Melbourne

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity for Bonza, starting with gaining its air operator's certificate on January 12th and the first commercial service from the Sunshine Coast to Whitsunday Coast Airport on January 31st.

Bonza's mantra is bringing air travel to the many and not just the few who can afford it and each time a new route starts the airline and its CEO, Tim Jordan, make it into a special event, whether that be a regional community in Mackay or the second biggest city in the country.

As is his way, Jordan was front and center at the launch, describing it as "a very, very significant day for Bonza."

"Today is about bringing low-cost airfares to Tullamarine, our second base here in Australia and our first capital city base. We are very proud about opening up new markets to this wonderful airport and of the new routes into and out of Tullamarine seven of them are not flown by any other airlines.

"New routes that allow tourists to get in and for Victorians to get out and explore other new locations across this wonderful backyard that we have. Bonza is all about new routes and markets and the many and not the few."

Bonza Melbourne Airport MEL Launch
Photo: Bonza

Each launch brings new connections, and Bonza will have eleven destinations and twelve routes from the Melbourne base, plus the existing flights to the Sunshine Coast from Melbourne Avalon Airport. The starting dates and flight frequencies vary across destinations, but services will progressively ramp up from Melbourne Airport over the next six weeks. What will catch the attention is Bonza's uncomplicated and low-fare pricing, with one-way fares between AU$49 to AU89 ($32-$59).

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Is there room at the inn?

Melbourne Airport is hurtling back towards pre-COVID numbers, and the domestic airline is again filling up with passengers and aircraft. With curfew-free operations the airport has usually found a way to accommodate new airlines, so Simple Flying asked airport CEO Lori Argus about the balance between the mainline carriers, Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar, and the new entrants, Bonza and Rex. She replied:

"My team do a lot of work to move things around to make sure we can accommodate everyone, and we will accommodate everyone, but it is a bit of a Tetris game making sure we can move things around.

"We're not slot constrained in Melbourne, we're 24/7, and the team do an extraordinary job to make sure we can continue to accept new entrants and the growth that we're going to see domestically and internationally."

There's no show without the cake

As Simple Flying experienced again yesterday, the 737 MAX 8 is a joy to fly on and a technological marvel, but so are the Bonza cakes, which get more and more elaborate as each launch passes.

Bonza MEL Cake FH019319
Photo: Bonza

Yesterday's offering was so realistic that many didn't believe it was a cake until it was cut, but by the time we returned to Melbourne, it had vanished without a trace.

Bonza MEL cake FH019913-COPY
Photo: Bonza

Bonza is all about disrupting the status quo and introducing changes, so long as they make the passenger experience better than what others offer. When it was first announced that bookings would be via the Fly Bonza app and not a website, some proclaimed that idea simply wouldn't fly.

Proving the naysayers wrong again, Jordan revealed yesterday that the app has already been downloaded more than 700,000 times and used to make more than 110,000 bookings. The exposure that Bonza is now getting at Melbourne Airport is sure to boost those numbers.

Have you flown with Bonza yet? Let us know in the comments.