Bonza is Australia’s newest budget airline. With a head office on the Sunshine Coast, a second base in Melbourne and a third one on the Gold Coast, Bonza offers flights on 36 point-to-point routes to 21 airports across Australia.
Flights start from as little as $29 one-way and Bonza Airline reviews have been great!
Until recently, you could not actually book a ticket on the Bonza website. Bonza has recently added this functionality, but you still cannot book through online travel agents.
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How to book a Bonza flight
There are three ways that you can book a Bonza flight: Either through the Fly Bonza App, on the Bonza website or with a bricks-and-mortar travel agent that partners with Bonza.
The easiest way to book a Bonza flight is to download the Fly Bonza App from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. In 2023, 95% of Bonza flight bookings were made in the Fly Bonza App.
It is unfortunately not possible to book a Bonza flight with online travel agents such as Webjet or Expedia. Bonza flights also don’t currently appear when searching on flight aggregator websites like Google Flights or ITA Matrix.
In fact, if you use Google to search for a list of airlines operating on any of Bonza’s routes, Bonza doesn’t even appear in the results.
In the example above, Bonza has a convenient non-stop flight that costs less than half of the cheapest option with Jetstar, Virgin Australia or Qantas. Because of this, you really do need to look for flights directly with Bonza (or ask your local travel agent) if you’re looking for a cheap flight!
You can also check our full list of current Bonza routes.
Booking a flight in the Fly Bonza App
To search or book in the Fly Bonza App, simply open the “Book” tab and enter the details of the flight you’re looking for:
After selecting “Show flights”, you would find that Bonza has a direct flight on this route from just $29:
After choosing your flight, you have the option to choose a seat and add baggage.
You’ll then be asked to fill in your contact details and have the option to pay in the Fly Bonza App using Visa, Mastercard or POLi. Bonza does not accept American Express payments.
Booking on the Bonza website
Since March 2024, you can book flights directly on FlyBonza.com. This is also fairly straightforward.
Booking through a travel agent
Although you can’t book Bonza flights through online travel agents, Bonza has partnered with over 1,000 Aussie travel agents – most of which are based in the cities served by Bonza. So, if you live in a city with Bonza service, that could be another option for you to book your flight.
Why doesn’t Bonza sell tickets through online travel agents?
The airline’s CEO told Australian Frequent Flyer that it wanted to be able to communicate directly with customers, rather than through intermediaries.
“We need to be able to communicate very effectively when things go wrong. It’s not the good times that are going to define us, it’s actually the bad times. It’s when things are running behind schedule when we need to contact customers that is most important for us and very important for the customer.
“The app allows us to do that without going potentially through an intermediary. And we will have 100% confidence that we have communicated a schedule change or a change to somebody’s travel plans.”
How much do Bonza flights cost?
Bonza’s airfares are generally very reasonably priced, starting from as low as $39 on routes like Rockhampton-Cairns.
On most routes, one-way fares start from between $59 (e.g. Mackay-Sunshine Coast) and $89 (e.g. Melbourne-Gladstone). On flights at popular times or on longer routes, such as Melbourne-Alice Springs, prices may be higher.
Of course, these prices don’t include extras like seat selection, baggage or food & drinks on-board, which cost extra. However, Bonza does offer a limited selection of free in-flight entertainment on its flights that passengers can stream using their own electronic devices.
What it’s like flying with Bonza
Bonza flies new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft with 186 Economy seats. There are charging outlets available at each seat.
We flew with Bonza and found the on-board service to be excellent. The planes are modern and the cabin crew are enthusiastic.
Bonza has an extensive selection of Australian-made food and drinks available for sale on board at reasonable prices. You can order using the QR code on the back of the seat in front, and the cabin crew will then deliver your order to your seat. (If you want, you can also purchase Bonza-branded budgie smugglers on board!)
See AFF’s review of Bonza for more details about what to expect!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can book Bonza flights using the Fly Bonza App, Bonza website or with any of the 1,000+ Australian travel agents that partner with the airline.
Bonza Airline has flights to Albury, Alice Springs, Avalon (Geelong), Bundaberg, Cairns, Darwin, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne (Tullamarine), Mildura, Mount Isa, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore), Tamworth, Toowoomba (Wellcamp), Townsville and Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine).
Bonza opened bookings on its website for the first time in March 2024.
Bonza flies brand new Boeing 737-8 MAX planes with 186 Economy Class seats.
No. Bonza Airline is a low-cost carrier and does not offer any loyalty program.
Depending on the route and date of travel, Bonza flights start from between $39 and $139 one-way. Extra charges apply for things like checked baggage, advance seat selection, food and drinks.
Bonza’s head office is at Sunshine Coast Airport in Maroochydore. Bonza also has bases at Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport and Gold Coast Airport.
Bonza does not currently fly to anywhere in Western Australia. However, the airline is in talks with around 20 other airports about the possibility of launching services. Some of these airports are in Western Australia and this may include Perth Airport.
