Jake Nelson

Chief customer officer Carly Povey admitted to Australian Aviation that the decision to cut back services had been made earlier than Bonza would have liked, and added the company was compelled to take out routes where there wasn’t “sustainable demand at present”.

Bonza launched its single route from Coffs Harbour, which flew to the Sunshine Coast, on 21 April, and is dropping it just over three months later due to low demand. The low-cost carrier has flown twice per week between the two holiday destinations, with some initial tickets on sale for as little as $29.

Milne has worked with Qantas on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and is currently, as chief of Skytrans, aiming to operate Australia’s first zero-emissions hydrogen-powered commercial flight by 2026 in partnership with Stralis.

The NSW-based regional airline will operate three flights per week starting 29 August for an initial period of six months with a service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

Major airframe components including centre and rear fuselage are now under construction at the Airbus factory in Mirabel, Canada. Qantas has ordered 29 A220 aircraft to replace QantasLink’s ageing Boeing 717 fleet.

The AAD is looking to bring together its specialised aerial operations under one operator, and is seeking expanded capabilities including a large intercontinental aircraft, four intracontinental turboprops with skis, four twin-engine helicopters that can operate on land and ship, and a “significant scaling up” of Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) capability.