Australian Aviation

Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3, said he backed the tilt-rotor aircraft, which was grounded for three months after being involved in two fatal incidents last year.

On average, Bonza’s 186-seat 737 MAX 8s were seeing more than 130 customers per flight at its Sunshine Coast, Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Gold Coast bases since commencing services in January last year, a source with knowledge of the situation told Australian Aviation.

Flights will not resume before 29 May, administrator Hall Chadwick said, and staff will remain stood down until that time as talks continue with “interested parties” who could potentially save the embattled airline. Expressions of interest are open until Thursday.

James Goodwin, chief executive of the Australian Airports Association (AAA), told Australian Aviation the association understands Bonza owes “at least $10 million in unpaid aeronautical and terminal charges”.

According to ATSB director of transport safety Dr Stuart Godley, while both pilots had made the required mandatory calls on the local common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), the Cherokee’s pilot had mistakenly called Mildura’s runway 36 “runway 35”.

The airline will operate four return A330-200 services per week starting 28 October, bringing an estimated 170,000 additional inbound seats to Queensland over three years. It will mark the first time Qantas has flown between Brisbane and Manila in more than a decade.