Bonza Airline Discussion

NTL-MCY might work if timed for weekend travel.

I very much doubt NTL-PPP will stick once the subsidies run out.

Unless there's people in SYD so desperate for a cheap flight they make their way to Newcastle - perhaps Bonza will run a side business (Bonza Bus?) running people between SYD city and NTL airport. Maybe they'll lobby for NTL to be renamed Sydney (Williamtown) Airport.

Surprised they're not giving NTL-MEL a shot - yes there's competition, but if they're offering cheap fares they'll have no problem filling seats.

I would have thought NTL-HBA might be successful.

Not on a 737 sized aircraft. They struggle to make ADL work on a smaller plane. Even AKL was difficult.

It's hard enough flying NTL-BNE at the moment. I'm having to fly to OOL instead on Friday to get a flight at a decent time.
 
Simply not going to use any airline that has such low frequencies as some of the routes indicated. People are going to get trapped. I can write the nonews headlines now.
 
Download the app to win free flights!
I did this too. I was surprised upon entering my Australian 4-digit postcode, that it came up with an error message saying post code had to be a minimum of 5 digits! Hopefully not a sign of things to come in terms of Bonza's IT working for the Australian market.
 
Last edited:
I did this too. I was surprised upon entering my Australian 4-digit postcode, that it came up with an error message saying post code had to be a minimum of 5 digits! Hopefully not a sign of things to come in terms of Bonza's IT working for the Australian market.
They’ve poached the IT work experience kids from QF…….😉
 
Can I just say, Bonza's media & PR team is doing a WAY better job than Rex did when it launched 737 flights last year.
Bonza 7k Facebook followers in 2 days. Rex 12 months on, sit at a mere 12k. Take a look at the Rex Facebook site and it’s a very non engaging site. It’s largely company propaganda, many posts with John Sharp.

I see the Bonza CCO is ex Jetstar, Tiger and Easyjet.

The whole budgy smugglers thing is clever PR, plan to sell onboard also (I actually want a pair of those togs lol). I feel Bonza could be doing what Tiger did, and do a better job of it. They seem like a very engaging brand. I’m just not sold on the whole route map, yet.

Two very very different airlines.
 
Turn business expenses into Business Class! Process $10,000 through pay.com.au to score 20,000 bonus PayRewards Points and join 30k+ savvy business owners enjoying these benefits:

- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Bonza 7k Facebook followers in 2 days. Rex 12 months on, sit at a mere 12k. Take a look at the Rex Facebook site and it’s a very non engaging site. It’s largely company propaganda, many posts with John Sharp.

I see the Bonza CCO is ex Jetstar, Tiger and Easyjet.

The whole budgy smugglers thing is clever PR, plan to sell onboard also (I actually want a pair of those togs lol). I feel Bonza could be doing what Tiger did, and do a better job of it. They seem like a very engaging brand. I’m just not sold on the whole route map, yet.

Two very very different airlines.

Rex also doesn't help its own cause by posting cough like this on its page:

rex-fb-post.jpg

After reading this several times, I still wasn't sure if it was a scam. It was actually legit.
 
Two very very different airlines.
Bonza marketing dept is a like wave waiting to be ridden by someone wanting to make a name in the industry for themselves:

Bonzarama Sale,
Bonzember Month,
Bonza Frequent Party club,
"Where the Bonz are ya?"
Bonza, while others taking off, we're going off!
Bonza, no suits allowed.
Bonza, loudest shirt gets free drinks in-flight
 
I see the Bonza CCO is ex Jetstar, Tiger and Easyjet.
The whole budgy smugglers thing is clever PR
I'm totally cool with being different. I like the style of Virgin Atlantic (not Virgin Australia) over CX or QF. Different way of talking to customers inflight, Richard Branson cross dressing. They are all good. Yet Bonza is not those cool style / image of being different. I use the word 'cringey' for Bonza, as in:

VS = 😯😃😁
Bonza = 😰😖🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️:rolleyes:

Maybe I'm not bogan enough ......
 
The whole budgy smugglers thing is clever PR, plan to sell onboard also (I actually want a pair of those togs lol). I feel Bonza could be doing what Tiger did, and do a better job of it. They seem like a very engaging brand.
As corny as some might find it, Bonza are doing a good job at getting their name out there. They should have some good momentum when tickets finally go on sale. From reading interviews with Tim Jordan, it seems like Bonza want to be a LCC which provides a good product. He talks a lot about being reasonable with ancillary fees. If they can provide a good level of service for a LCC and have the advertising to back it up, I don’t see them having a problem attracting a following.
I’m just not sold on the whole route map, yet.
I’m less convinced on the route network too, but with the LCC model, routes that don’t work won’t stick around for long. I won’t be surprised if we see a quick ‘evolution’ of the network and a shift to more traditional routes.

I’m surprised they’re willing to compete with VA/JQ/QF on MCY-MEL. At least it’s a taster to what they could do on ‘normal’ routes as they mature. If they‘re reliable and have a ‘nice’ overall product by LCC standards, they could become a serious competitor to JQ.

I’ve said it a few times, but I’ll say it again, the Tiger market is hanging there and if Rex won’t take it, Bonza certainly could. 777 Partners have a heap of 737 MAX’s to put somewhere after all.

VS = 😯😃😁
Bonza = 😰😖🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️:rolleyes:
VS is a premium airline, so I wouldn’t be comparing their branding to Bonza who don’t need to aim for that ‘vibe.’ The Bonza brand seems very LCC to me, and although it might be cringey, that’s what seems to work. Their PR is reminiscent of the loud and out there advertising of the DJ/TT/JQ early days.
 
MEL-MCY shouldn’t be an issue, Tiger used to operate this route, however they are daily essentially if you include Avalon.

MEL-CNS should have been a goer, that is a market Tiger left at twice daily that nobody has taken yet. Obviously a very popular route in the dry season with Jetstar up to a crazy 7/8 daily.

Transcon will need some low cost stimulation also.
 
\
MEL-CNS should have been a goer, that is a market Tiger left at twice daily that nobody has taken yet. Obviously a very popular route in the dry season with Jetstar up to a crazy 7/8 daily.

Transcon will need some low cost stimulation also.

I think they initially suggested that they were trying to stick to flights no more than 2-3hrs long. The longer the flight of course, the less of them you can do. MEL-MKY seems to be the longest in their current plan, which is probably about 2:45 (5 mins shorter perhaps than MEL-HTI).
 
I was listening to an interview with CEO, he did say the only reason they are flying MEL-MCY is to cycle aircraft through for maintenance and aircraft changes.
 
I did this too. I was surprised upon entering my Australian 4-digit postcode, that it came up with an error message saying post code had to be a minimum of 5 digits! Hopefully not a sign of things to come in terms of Bonza's IT working for the Australian market.
They probably just got their hands on a US based 5 digit postal code template.
 
I was listening to an interview with CEO, he did say the only reason they are flying MEL-MCY is to cycle aircraft through for maintenance and aircraft changes.
Makes sense to some extent. Pick up some paying passengers rather than cycling the aircraft empty between bases.
 
An article about Bonza on the ABC site this morning. Lost of quotes from "Respected aviation analyst Geoffrey Thomas"

It does seem that Bonza is indeed a lot smarter than Rex in the self promotion area at least.

 
Will be interested to see to what extent this routing entertainment works, the route network designed to serve maybe 1/4 of the population at best. Looks like there might have been some last minute changes in the routings too. WTB-NTL appears in the map but not the annnouncement.

2x 737s weekly WTB-TSV has me gobsmacked. How is that going to work as a leisure route? TL currently flies 2x E170s WTB-CNS, but CNS attracts maybe 4x the leisure traffic that TSV does.

Can I just say,
Sure. One day post COVID I will see that phrase without laughing:p

Cheers skip
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top