Bonza Airline Discussion

[dajop]

Except they do…if you look at different dates, the prices do fluctuate.

Yep, on “Easter Thursday” , Geelong-Sunshine Coast is selling for $299.

 

[drron]

I think Bonza says when you book apart from the extra room seats up front the price of each seat is the same. And when booking you do pay for a standard set and later add the up front seat and other extras.

 

[Saab34]

I don’t think that is the case. The prices are low because they don’t have the lead in times to fill each yield bucket before moving onto the next fare level. The yield mix isn’t quite right yet as they have only been selling seats for a month and ops have already started.

Also generally new startups burn margin, keep fares low, to drum up some demand. Rex did that too when they first started, fares too high and brand awareness minimal, so few months later they went to market with $39 fares and went out full daily.

The Bonza model will rely more on forward bookings in the 2-6 month period, vs the others on capital city runs who can fill a flight same week. Melbourne to Mildura might be more last minute.

 

[justinbrett]

Start up airlines are usually unrecognisable 2-3 years after, all of their crazy ideas eventually go and they operate like any other airline.

Could even end up leapfrogging VA and joining Star Alliance

 

[HS-TQE]

Start up airlines are usually unrecognisable 2-3 years after, all of their crazy ideas eventually go and they operate like any other airline.

Could even end up leapfrogging VA and joining Star Alliance

Star Alliance Connecting Partners maybe? . Can't see Star Alliance starting to accept (U)LCCs as full members

 

[justinbrett]

Star Alliance Connecting Partners maybe? . Can't see Star Alliance starting to accept (U)LCCs as full members

Who's to say they'll stay a LCC?

DJ was too, then look at how VA1 turned out. (Yes, that didn't end well for them, but still...)

Someone could buy them out just for their AOC and then turn them into something else - it's happened before.

 

[henrus]

Can't see Star Alliance starting to accept (U)LCCs as full members

With cash I'm sure they would but Bonza isn't even willing to spend $ on publishing flights to the GDS (meaning they don't even show on google flights).

A more logical solution would be what rex tried and failed (but for different reasons) and that is to release a more expensive fare type that is published to the GDS.

 

[dajop]

Star Alliance Connecting Partners maybe? . Can't see Star Alliance starting to accept (U)LCCs as full members

They have NZ as a member

 

[drron]

I don’t think that is the case. The prices are low because they don’t have the lead in times to fill each yield bucket before moving onto the next fare level. The yield mix isn’t quite right yet as they have only been selling seats for a month and ops have already started.

Also generally new startups burn margin, keep fares low, to drum up some demand. Rex did that too when they first started, fares too high and brand awareness minimal, so few months later they went to market with $39 fares and went out full daily.

The Bonza model will rely more on forward bookings in the 2-6 month period, vs the others on capital city runs who can fill a flight same week. Melbourne to Mildura might be more last minute.

But my point is that if they are publishing a fare for a service say one day in May all seats on that day will be the same price.
their promise didn't say the same price every day. So if they are confident Friday flights to QLD will be popular every seat on a particular Friday flight would be the same but almost certainly different to a Tuesday flight.

 

[dajop]

Typically the day before Good Friday is one of the busiest days for air travel in Australia. Of course Bonza don't fly all routes around then, but looking at fares on that, Good Friday, or in the case of one route Easter Saturday, it looks like CNS, AVV, MEL and TSV are the standouts. But Jetstar is charging $479 for MEL-MCY on Easter Thursday.

AVV-MCY $299 ($139 in other direction)
CNS-MCY $149 ($269)
MEL-MCY $269 ($129)
TSV-MCY $199 ($159)
ABX-MCY $179 ($119)
NTL-MCY $189 ($89)
NTL-PPP $159($79)
PPP-MCY $99 ($119)
MKY-MCY $99 ($94)
MQL-MCY $89 ($79) (admittedly on the Saturday no the busier Thu/Fri)
CNS-ROK $79 ($69)
ROK-MCY $69 ($59)
ROK-TSV $69 ($50)

 

[dajop]

Oh also, I noticed this on kayak.com.au :

 

[Harrison_133]

Sunshine Coast to Coffs and Mackay have also joined the $29 club.

MCY-ROK/PPP have joined too.

 

[HS-TQE]

Who's to say they'll stay a LCC?

DJ was too, then look at how VA1 turned out. (Yes, that didn't end well for them, but still...)

Someone could buy them out just for their AOC and then turn them into something else - it's happened before.

The only entity I can see doing that is in a REX/PAG buyout of Bonza, if it ends to be the other way around (777 buying REX), then it's predicted REX will join Bonza in the ULCC space.

Unless if Temasek/Singapore Airlines wants to burn billions on a 4th attempt (after losing billions on their Ansett (through SQ's stake in Air New Zealand) Tiger Airways Australia and VA 1.0 attempts), I can't see any other entity serious in buying the Bonza AOC.

I don't see 777 Partners entering the FSC market with any of their carriers (including Bonza) anytime soon.

 

[Saab34]

Having a look at BNE-PPP flights this arvo being busy Sunday.

BNE-PPP
QF- $274
VA- $389
JQ- $207

MCY-PPP
AB- $29

 

[PineappleSkip]

By way of contrast I looked at flights BNE-SYD this arvo
QF - $240-373
VA - $199-259
JQ - booked out
Rex - $349

IIRC Rex was way below the incumbents when they started out on this route too.

Cheers skip

 

[Saab34]

Looks like the Bonza in Canada ‘Flair’ is in some financial trouble.

 

[HS-TQE]

The dispute from the 4x 737s in question at Flair/777 is with the lessor Airborne Capital (in turn the leasing company owned by a New York based rival Private Equity firm).

What we know about 4 Flair Airlines planes seized over ‘commercial dispute’ - National | Globalnews.ca

In a statement to Global News Saturday, a spokesperson for Flair Airlines said a 'commercial dispute' with a New York-based hedge fund and lessor had impacted four of its planes.

globalnews.ca

 

[drron]

But that article on Flair is 9 months old.

 

[Saab34]

But that article on Flair is 9 months old.

Yesterday?

 

[drron]

Sorry I read the date under the picture which was 18/6/22.
However on their website they say that they have added 13 Maxs to their fleet recently so not a major problem with 3 spare planes.