Issue #394: Bonza’s demise & ultra long haul
Where did Tim’s big plan go wrong?
Tim Jordan, the current – or should that be former? – CEO of Bonza is a very lovely man indeed. In the rough and tumble world of domestic aviation, his affableness knew no bounds. He would constantly make himself available for interviews at short notice and was always candid and honest in his answers to tough questions. He even dressed differently from his peers – rather than wear a suit, Jodan would almost exclusively turn up anywhere wearing his trademark Bonza black polo shirt. Now, though, his airline is liquated, having not even survived 18 months.
The narrative, at least in the mainstream media, was that Bonza was doomed from the start. It would never break the duopoly of Virgin and Qantas, they said. Their planes were too big to make their services from smaller destinations work. And being denied access to Sydney Airport would make it all but impossible for them to turn a profit. That, though, isn’t really the story. The evidence suggests Bonza’s point-to-point plan to skip out major capital city routes was working. The company claims 750,000 people flew with them during their first year in operation. That’s a deeply impressive number, given services could only be purchased via their app, and their advertising budget was relatively small.
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