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Revealed: Bonza will fly 25 routes to 16 destinations

written by Adam Thorn | February 15, 2022

Budget startup carrier Bonza has finally broken cover to reveal it will initially fly 25 routes to 16 destinations, including Cairns, Mildura, Newcastle and Whitsunday Coast.

It also announced it will be jointly based in both the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne airport and claims 80 per cent of its routes are currently completely unserved.

Bonza first announced its plans to launch in October 2021 with a plan to fly “point to point” leisure routes not serviced by Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin and Rex.

The full list of routes is at the bottom of the article and will account for its first five 737 MAXs, with three more to follow.

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Twenty-five routes will take Australian travellers, including only one capital city, to 16 destinations: Albury, Avalon, Bundaberg, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba Wellcamp, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast

“Since announcing Bonza to the world late last year, we’ve always said we wouldn’t just fly between Australia’s three largest cities and instead give people in the regions more choice. Today we deliver on that promise, with the largest launch announcement in Australian aviation history,” says Tim Jordan, CEO of Bonza.

“From our two bases on the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne, we will give Aussies more options at ultra-low fares to explore their own backyard. With destinations ranging from Albury to the Whitsundays, travellers will now be able to fly, instead of impossibly long road trips as well as fly direct without a stopover in a major city. Aussies can look forward to enjoying more time at their destination and spending less of their hard-earned cash getting there in the first place,” added Jordan.

Bonza claims that 96 per cent of its first routes will welcome a low-cost carrier for the first time.

“Our brand new fleet of 737 MAX aircraft, the youngest, most technologically advanced and most efficient in Australia, will ensure more Aussies get to travel at low prices but with the bar set high on the quality of their experience with us. Although some airlines in the past have connected the two, low-cost travel does not mean low quality travel.  We’re investing in advanced aircraft to bring the opportunity for low fares along with great environmental efficiencies.”

Sunshine Coast
12 routes including Sunshine Coast to:

  • Albury – 2 flights per week
  • Avalon – 3 flights per week
  • Cairns – 5 flights a week
  • Coffs Harbour – 2 flights a week
  • Mackay – 3 flights per week
  • Melbourne – 4 flights per week
  • Mildura – 2 flights per week
  • Newcastle – 4 flights per week
  • Port Macquarie – 2 flights per week
  • Rockhampton – 3 flights per week
  • Townsville – 4 flights per week
  • Whitsunday Coast – 3 flights per week

Melbourne
8 routes including Melbourne to:

  • Bundaberg – 2 flights per week
  • Gladstone – 2 flights per week
  • Mackay – 2 flights per week
  • Mildura – 3 flights per week
  • Port Macquarie – 2 flights per week
  • Rockhampton – 3 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 4 flights per week
  • Toowoomba Wellcamp – 4 flights per week

Whitsunday Coast
3 routes including Whitsunday Coast to:

  • Newcastle – 2 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 3 flights per week
  • Toowoomba Wellcamp – 2 flights per week

Rockhampton
4 routes including Rockhampton to:

  • Cairns – 2 flights per week
  • Melbourne – 3 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 3 flights per week
  • Townsville – 3 flights per week

Mackay
3 routes including Mackay to:

  • Cairns – 2 flights per week
  • Melbourne – 2 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 3 flights per week

Cairns
3 routes including Cairns to:

  • Mackay – 2 flights per week
  • Rockhampton – 2 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 5 flights per week

Toowoomba Wellcamp
3 routes including Toowoomba Wellcamp to:

  • Melbourne – 4 flights per week
  • Townsville – 2 flights per week
  • Whitsunday Coast – 2 flights per week

Townsville
3 routes including Townsville to:

  • Rockhampton – 3 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 4 flights per week
  • Toowoomba Wellcamp – 2 flights per week

Newcastle
2 routes including Newcastle to:

  • Sunshine Coast – 4 flights per week
  • Whitsunday Coast – 2 flights per week

Port Macquarie
2 routes including Port Macquarie to:

  • Melbourne – 2 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 2 flights per week

Gladstone

  • 1 route of Gladstone to Melbourne – 2 flights per week

Bundaberg

  • 1 route Bundaberg to Melbourne – 2 flights per week

Coffs Harbour

  • 1 route Coffs Harbour to Sunshine Coast – 2 flights per week

Albury

  • 1 route Albury to Sunshine Coast – 2 flights per week

Mildura
2 routes including Mildura to:

  • Melbourne – 3 flights per week
  • Sunshine Coast – 2 flights per week

Avalon

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Comments (46)

  • Ronda Brien

    says:

    I am hoping that if the above routes are successful that the rest of Australia will benefit. A good route will be from Darwin to Broome.

  • Zlarin

    says:

    It appears as though the largest holiday destination, Gold Coast, is well left out.

    • Bryan

      says:

      It’s well serviced by other airlines, that’s why.

  • Steve A

    says:

    What a pity that you have to actually announce your routes before you start them, obviously to get bookings.
    You have also at the same time just announced the new routes for Jetstar too, whether you want to or not. Because the management at QF are so bereft of ideas for new routes themselves that they will just copy you and throw heaps of empty seats onto your routes at basement prices.
    Once they have made you go broke, then they will withdraw from the routes stating that they were uneconomic.
    We know this because this is their modus operandi.
    But it doesn’t need to be like this. I can show them (and I have offered to do this) over100 new domestic and international routes that can be put into place over 5 years profitably.
    But they want my ideas for nothing when all I am asking them for is to get paid for the ones that they use. Getting paid for your ideas is nothing to be ashamed of. Alan Joyce averages more than $10 million every year, so I don’t feel guilty about that.
    I also offered to show them how they can more than double their profit, and remain profitable even during pandemics and high oil prices, but they have a top down management that won’t look at other ideas.
    The problem at QF is that the current management has been in place for so long, that they have blinkered vision.
    There are amazing opportunities out there if you look.
    I have even offered to show them

    • Hilton Conroy

      says:

      Yes I have no doubt that grossly overpaid CEO of QF (who illegally sacked workers) would have already been planning how to crush BONZA … This is the way QF thinks so they will do it again.
      Using the MAX is a way for BONZA to get good economics, but what will the public think. The basic problem with the B737 Max was that the bigger engines were placed too far forward on the wings. Changes made in the cockpit to the “anti stall” system are a band aid job. Maybe the extra pilot training might help? Anyone who has studied the MAX issues knows this. Will the extra pilot training and band aid fixes work? Only time will tell. But I hope BONZA succeed… We need them.

  • Vannus

    says:

    Very ambitious thinking on Bonza’s bosses’ for these routings.

    Thought they said at very beginning that they weren’t going to fly to ports already serviced by other airlines’.

    This latest announcement ‘flys in the face’, pardon my bad pun, of the original talk fest.

    Let’s see how long they last……

  • BONZA….well I never, however I do wish them well and good luck. Wise move just staying on the east and SE coast though and not straying too far from base.

  • Colin Mcpherson

    says:

    Will they ever do a direct flight mebourne to hervey bay

    • Bob

      says:

      I hope so!

    • Other airlines have toyed with this idea for years but it has never eventuated. I lived in Hervey Bay for 30 years and relocated to the Sunshine Coast last year. It would be a really good start to have a flight from the Sunshine Coast to Hervey Bay. As well as locals, many tourists would love to extend their holidays to include Hervey Bay and Fraser Island. This was the holiday destination the new king Charles recommended to Harry and Megan – and they absolutely loved it all. Just saying just planting seeds for thought.

  • Rod Pickin

    says:

    Yep, an interesting and proactive schedule proposal with however a very high capital need considering the equipment to be utilised. The marketing gurus normally want about 12 months of operations to prove the financial returns claimed but if after 6 months, maybe less, the red ink gets more pronounced the bankers may well have a different direction in mind for the company. For me, I wish them well but it is a very bold and potentially costly move for this time and climate, the more established carriers won’t take this operation lightly either. Very interesting!

  • Sandra Norman

    says:

    Hi Team
    So disappointed that you don’t fly from Hervey Bay to these destinations. Hope you fly out from Hervey Bay in the future! Congratulations and good luck
    Kindest regards Sandra Norman

  • Simon Hawkins

    says:

    Bundaberg, Gladstone, and Albury don’t have a runway long enough to cater to an Max8. There are some very odd gaps in their business case, which is bizarre when you consider that their management team comprises people who should have a good idea of the Australian airline landscape. The regional market in this country is so heavily reliant on government subsidies that it begs the question why any startup would be kicking off using brand new equipment. Virgin started using 737-400’s borrowed from a sister company in Belgium, Jetstar with Impulse 717’s….

    • James

      says:

      Incorrect Simon. All have received 737’s over the past years.

      Gladstone had mainline QF 737 charters during the height of the LNG plant construction.

      Bundy has had the RAAF BBJ often enough.

      Albury has had the VB/VA 737.

  • Ronald Perks

    says:

    Hi I would like to see if could fly from all capital cities around Australia to bali including Cairns with a set price all year round like $500 return but also special deals. You will fill every seat. I hope this helps you I think it would work

  • Sky

    says:

    737 Max 8 at Port Macquarie, Albury and Bundaberg. That’s pretty ambitious.
    I don’t think the RWY PCN will allow this,
    I think the E-Jet the Virgin used to operate into some of those ports was tight.

  • Steve

    says:

    And nothing for WA….?

  • Wayno

    says:

    Bit hard to see how they are going to fill 180-odd seats on some of these routes – for example Toowoomba to Whitsunday coast. I wish them well though. Good to see a new player willing to experiment with new city pairs. Let’s hope the travelling public in these regions give them the support to make it work.

  • An American company using 737MAX jets before VA get theirs woohoo!. VA have been up the creek without direction since receivership and their cost cutting is driving customers away; hopefully Bonza WILL actually succeed and eventually drive Virgin out of the market once and for all. Borghetti failed and was rewarded for it.
    The new owners and hardlicker are seriously not fit to operate an airline, let alone a stripped down Qantas lookalike ?.

    Considering the market is substantially smaller now, Qantas, Jetstar and Rex are more than ample to cover the country. Bonza will fill the gaps and drive VA into oblivion.
    The Rex can use more of VA’s stock to expand their network and cover other routes that Bonza won’t. Their use of old VA sick has been refreshing! Especially with airports like Bendigo in VIC expanding….. There’s a niche market to go Hobart-Bendigo, Melbourne-Merimbula, Bendigo-Canberra etc.

    Exciting times ahead, and I’m sure with the failed history of other Aussie airlines the US bankrollers know which way to steer this ship!

    Ansett 1&2 Au revoir
    Compass 1,2 &3 that was painful to watch
    Air Australia 1&2 why did they bother?!?!?
    Virgin blue/Virgin Australia….recievership stripped and sold, now struggling……. bye Felicia! ?

  • Neil

    says:

    Half these routes are serviced but the other airlines. I thought they were only going to concentrated on routes not flown by the other carriers. Bit concerned about the length of the runway for a Boeing 737 at Albury. I know both Qantas,& Virgin Boeing 737s have operated out of Mildura, but surely the airport would need further upgrading. Playing it safe flying on the East Coast, but no flights to Tasmania! Surely they could have had 2 flights a week to Uluru. When Western Australia eventually open up, why not have some direct flights between Melbourne, Sydney,& Brisbane to Broome. Avalon is a good choice but could be utilised more as well.

  • Mark Yule

    says:

    Fingers crossed they will fly in and out of Brisbane.
    It would be great competition for other carriers.
    We are all slowly adapting to becoming a more sustainable country.
    I say fly to as many cities as possible.
    It’s look like a great brand with the new 737 Max’s.

  • Greg

    says:

    What a Bonza idea as the regions certainly need attention and some competition to REX who happily rips off the flying customer daily with its high priced seats. Qantas also needs a boot in the butt as well so go for it!

  • Nicholas

    says:

    hmmmmm

    Good luck, I think that there is a good reason why the bulk of these routes aren’t serviced yet. A few of them have winner on them well – the rest, well as I said, good luck…..

  • Mac Carter

    says:

    Looks like a complete takeover of existing Air North routes by Bonza and Qantas Link.

  • Aniljak

    says:

    Mildura- Sunshine Coast twice weekly in a 737- 800! That’s 360 plus seats per week out of a small isolated city with high unemployment. Will be the first route they pull out of as will be lucky to sell a handful of seats per week!
    One would have to question how much research they have done as routes dont seem to warrant a big aircraft,and they have named airports cant take 737-800! Should go with E170 or 190 which seems right size for these markets. Did they get 737s for nothing? Are their route planners from US or Canada where market from smaller cities is very different. Doesn’t look like theu understand the Australian domestic market

  • Paul

    says:

    Canberra to anywhere other than Melbourne or Sydney would be nice to see from any airline.

  • G’day Bonza aviation
    I would normally fly Brisbane to Rockhampton on a Friday every third week, as I am a FIFO worker,
    Virgin & Qantas have stopped there 1530 & 1555 flights on a Friday, and they are now 1700 & 1800,
    So hopefully this will leave room for Bonza to step in & take over a great time frame for a Flight from Sunshine Coast to Rockhampton,
    I can tell you that the flights out of Brisbane were always 80% capacity,
    Let me know if you are interested in doing a similar time, & if you are running a bus from Brisbane airport to sunshine coast airport, or if there is a train that goes to the sunshine coast,
    Cheers Q

    • Damian

      says:

      There’re already buses’ running BNE-MCY.

      And a train goes BNE to Nambour via stations in between.

      Doubt a start-up airline would worry about getting an approval from Qld State Transport to run yet another bus service.

  • L Davies

    says:

    Thought you were going to service Adelaide to Broome when trips were first announced. It’s ridiculous having to go through Perth! Used to be able to go through Alice Springs but no more. Was a direct flight (once a week) from Adelaide to Broome. It was always full. Not sure why it was taken off.

  • Desley Lloyd

    says:

    Have you considered Hervey Bay as a possible destination. It’s a popular tourist destination with pristine beaches, whale watching and the gateway to Fraser Island.

  • John Atkinson

    says:

    A few comments about whether Albury is a viable or feasible port. Being a regional centre passenger numbers could be questionable but I am surprised at the consistent numbers on the new daily ABX-BNE service by Qantas. Also 737s do fly in and out of Albury – no regular service yet but it is obviously possible.

    Let’s try and be positive guys about the possible success of a Bonza service from Albury and other regional centres. It is up to each of us to support such services.

    Cheers
    John

  • Christine Forbes

    says:

    Would be good more flights from Melbourne to PortMacquarie. Also flights from Adelaide to port Macquarie. SA seems to be left behind here. My family would definitely use your airline from both Melbourne & Adelaide.

  • John Byrne

    says:

    Just wondering availability for flights from Rockhampton to Townsville, what days are available in July, thanks

  • Robert England

    says:

    It is wonderful to see a new airline starting up but sadly they are not going to airports where Qantas have a monopoly
    If they offered competition Coffs Harbour to Sydney and Melbourn and Brisbane Iam sure they would fill their seas as Tiger Airways did before the pandemic.
    Qantas also need competition because they are screwing passengers with their high fairs

  • Daryl

    says:

    Can you please fly from Avalon to Newcastle as its pain to go melb every fortnite.

  • Vickie

    says:

    I am disappointed that there are no flights into Hervey Bay. Will this be a consideration in the future? Would love a direct flight from Hervey Bay to Canberra.

    • Nychelle Hanlon

      says:

      Totally agree. There are huge opportunities for an airline taking this on.

  • E meachan

    says:

    Hi bonza would you please consider hervey bay Virginia used to fly to Sydney and was nearly always full both ways, to travel to Sunshine Coast is not easy with train or bus so it’s a 2 and a half hr drive Bundaberg is closer but still similar problems thank you betty

  • RobGilkes

    says:

    What about flights in out of Canberra to Sunshine Coast?

  • Alex

    says:

    Canberra to anywhere?
    The other airlines are ripping us off with their pricing!

  • Jennifer Norton

    says:

    Hopefully that will fly Mildura to Melbourne. Paying too much for flights since Virgin pulled out

  • Michael

    says:

    Love the idea of Whitsunday’s to Newcastle I’m sure this will become a very popular route. 1m people in Newcastle says that will work.

  • Graeme

    says:

    Great news that another domestic airline is coming into the market , and flying regional routes as well. As I live in Mildura QANTAS and REX have had the market to themselves since the pandemic ended / eased.
    Pre pandemic we had Virgin as well operating between Mildura and Melbourne , that disappeared during lockdowns and we are all aware of what eventually happened to Virgin.
    I sincerely hope that Bonza give QANTAS and REX a big shake up , they need it ! Both have been ripping off regional travelers for a long time , QANTAS post pandemic being the worst offender , and I will also add that QANTAS continually lose your checked luggage , cancel flights etc.
    Cheers Graeme.

  • Terri Jackson

    says:

    I would love to see flights from Melbourne and Albury to Hobart. Such a great destination but other airlines seem to neglect and charge heaps

  • Craig

    says:

    And amazingly Australia’s largest city is left out! Why not fly to Wollongong?

  • Cheryl

    says:

    Would be wonderful to see Albion park airport utilised. To Melbourne, port Macquarie, everywhere!

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