Bonza, which already has tickets on sale for the much-anticipated Sunshine Coast and Mildura route starting on April 4, hopes to fill an aviation niche by offering low-cost flights on under-serviced routes.
Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan said the first flight, between the Queensland holiday destinations of the Sunshine and Whitsunday coasts, had been 14 years in the making.
“We’re here, we’re at the start line and we will be changing the aviation environment for the better, for the many … and not just the few,” he said.
“We’re a leisure-focused airline … some of those bells and whistles that are associated with business carriers, that’s not for us.”
The coast route is the first of 27 to be gradually rolled out to a total of 17 destinations, with a focus on regional centres in eastern Australia.
Fares start at $49 and more than 10,000 tickets had sold since going on sale on Friday.
The reaction had been strong in Mildura with a large number of seats to the Sunshine Coast already snapped up, according to the airline.
Fares for that route started at $79.
Mr Jordan said the business model worked when fares stayed low.
“We look at an airline seat as the ultimate perishable item, as soon as that aircraft pushes back that’s a lost opportunity,” he said.
“We will be aiming to use as many seats … as we possibly can, because even if it’s $10 or $20 that somebody gives us, that’s $10 or $20 we won’t otherwise have.”
