Today, Australia's newest airline, Bonza, took things up a notch by launching flights to the nation's second-largest city, Melbourne. Bonza's first service into Victoria touched down at Melbourne Avalon Airport, the first of two airports it will operate from in the country's commercial capital.
Three routes and counting
This is the third route launched by Bonza since its first flight on January 31st, with the low-cost carrier now running services to Whitsunday Airport (WSY), Mackay Airport (MKY) and Melbourne Avalon (AVV). Between now and April 20th, the fledgling airline will open another 12 routes, starting tomorrow with a new service between Mackay and Townsville Airport (TSV) in northern Queensland.
Apart from giving its airplanes distinctly Australian nicknames, Bonza is looking to innovate and disrupt air travel in Australia to bring it back to its grass-roots target market. In Melbourne, it plans to operate at both Avalon and Melbourne International Airport (MEL), giving customers a choice of which destination suits their plans more effectively. Either is within easy reach of the central city district, and yet each offers different nearby attractions, with Avalon on the doorstep of Australia's famous surfing mecca of Bells Beach and the attractions along the Great Ocean Road.
Even the cake was innovative
At today's launch, which also featured an innovative approach to the traditional cake, Bonza's chief commercial officer Carly Povey reflected on how Bonza is being received and its key priorities as it moves from startup to full operation.
The lifeblood of any airline is forward bookings, and on that front, Povey said the picture is looking good for 2023. She told Simple Flying:
"Bookings are going really well, and we're seeing strong demand and lots of people booking ahead for Easter and the September school holidays as well. We've seen a strong spread across all the months which is positive, Christmas isn't on sale yet, so that will be coming soon, but on the whole, it's been really positive.
"And what's great is that some people are travelling just because they can, and that's when you really know you are genuinely making a difference, because suddenly you can go away for a weekend and spend less than you would if you had stayed at home."
A startup no more
As a brand-new airline, Bonza is now transitioning from designing an airline to running one, which sounds like a major shift, but that's not how Povey views the switch. She believes customers are the airline's biggest source of change, offering feedback on every part of their Bonza experience, be it the FlyBonza app, the airport procedures or the onboard food and beverage service.
An intriguing part of Bonza is its openness, from CEO Tim Jordan down, and the team's determination to do things better, not just deliver the plan they have spent years developing. When asked about what could upset the apple cart, Povey was very quick to nominate complacency as something no one in the airline is willing to accept.
"Look at today, there were customers everywhere giving us feedback, and that's what we want. It's having the willingness to learn and do things differently and knowing you will learn some things along the way. On every one of these flights, the feedback passengers give you is really healthy because it gives you the chance to say okay, the basics are there, and now it's about making sure we deliver consistently."
"You know what it is? It's about not getting complacent. The team that built this airline is the team that's running it, and complacency is something we never ever want to have in the business."
The Melbourne connection
Today's flight departed Bonza's home base at the aptly-named Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) in Queensland at 09:55. There are currently three brand-new Boeing 737 MAX 8s in operation, the trio of Bazza, Shazza and Sheila, with Bazza doing the flying today. Bazza's official moniker is VH-UIK with MSN 43975, and after a 2:11 hour flight, it landed at Avalon at 13:06, greeted by Simple Flying and various other dignitaries.
While the airline will set up a base at Melbourne International Airport, its first flight into Victoria touched down at Avalon Airport, close to one of Australia's premier attractions, the Great Ocean Road. It is around a fifty-minute drive to the CBD or around twenty-five minutes to the state's second city, Geelong, the gateway to the Surf Coast. Avalon Airport currently hosts flights for Qantas subsidiary Jetstar, and before the pandemic, was used by various international LCCs, including AirAsia X.
Partnerships with airports are a major focus for Bonza, and there is no better example than the one it has with Sunshine Coast Airport. Out of its initial 17 destinations, the vast majority operate to and from Sunshine Coast Airport, the first base for Bonza in Australia. The airport's CEO, Andrew Brodie, understands what having Bonza will do for the regions on the Sunshine Coast and all around the country. He, and his airport team, are an integral part of Bonza's launch, and he was on hand today to greet the owners of Avalon Airport, Lindsay and David Fox of logistics giant Linfox and AVV CEO Tony Brun.
Queensland's Sunshine Coast is a popular holiday spot for Victorians, particularly as they seek to escape the cold, southern winters. Brodie believes that having a direct connection between Avalon and the Sunshine Coast is a win-win for both destinations and that Bonza's (initial) three flights a week will stimulate travel and make the regions accessible for everyone.
The fourth 737 MAX
Late last week, Bonza's fourth Boeing 737 MAX 8 quietly entered the fleet, landing on the Sunshine Coast after a ferry flight that started on Valentine's Day from Seattle Boeing Field (BFI). According to Flightradar24.com, the 737-8 took around 16:30 hours to fly to Australia, not counting the overnight stopovers in Honolulu and Fiji at Nadi International. It is now undergoing the usual entry-into-service preparations, which means that soon Bonza will have four brand-new 737 MAXs at its disposal, with a fifth not all that far away.
Today Tim Jordan told Simple Flying the recent arrival would be in service "in around the next two weeks," adding that two aircraft will be based and operate from MCY, two at Melbourne International Airport, and the fifth held in reserve. Here again, Bonza is showing its customer-first colors, keeping an aircraft ready to be used when the inevitable external or internal challenges or disruptions arise. While that may not be unique, it is a strong sign of the airline's priorities, given that it only has five aircraft.
The fourth plane has the MSN 61864 and is registered VH-UKH, although Jordan did say he likes to use each aircraft's name rather than the tail number. This is especially so in this case, where the aircraft has been named after an industry stalwart and one of Bonza's startup team, Malcolm Handley, who sadly passed away recently. He was the airline's Head of Network Operations, and Carly Povey said:
"It wasn't a difficult decision to work out what this aircraft would be called, so in honor of Malcolm, we have named it Malc."
Discover more aviation news for Australia and Oceania here
Later this week, Bonza will announce a swag of 12 new routes from and to Melbourne, which will also go on sale. Just like the purple cupcakes today, Bonza is handing out some humble pie to the many doubters who said it wouldn't get off the ground. By the end of this week, it will have 27 routes on sale and a fleet of four 737 MAXs operating, with a fifth due soon; now that's worth a Thumbs Up.
Have you flown with Bonza on the MAX yet? Let us know in the comments.