Bonza has today revealed their third new base at Gold Coast Airport with two aircraft and service to 11 destinations including Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone Mackay, Melbourne Tullamarine, Mildura, Rockhampton, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast.
On Monday (July 31, 2023), Bonza announced the launch of a new base at Gold Coast Airport, the carrier’s third base. The airline will base two aircraft at the airport and offer service to 11 existing destinations, including Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone Mackay, Melbourne Tullamarine, Mildura, Rockhampton, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast. Flights will go on sale soon with introductory one way fares ranging from $49 to $79 per person. Bonza encourages travelers to download the Fly Bonza app, the only place to book directly, and to receive updates on when the new routes go on sale.
In today’s announcement, Bonza’s CEO, Tom Jordan, said,
“Today’s announcement is about creating more depth in our network by connecting existing Bonza destinations with the Gold Coast and also the gateway from there to Northern NSW. It is a huge boost for the economy and allows people in our existing destinations the opportunity to book an affordable flight to Gold Coast Airport and take a much-deserved holiday or long-awaited visit to friends and family. New routes from the Gold Coast also mean locals from South Brisbane down to Northern NSW regions, like Ballina and Byron Bay, have the chance to explore their own backyard with low-cost flights to regional locations like Mildura, Bundy and Townsville to name a few. We’ll be adding new destinations to our route map that will fly from the Gold Coast and we continue to welcome conversations with airports around the country as we fulfil our mission to connect communities. Our focus continues to be on unserved and underserved markets that we know would benefit from low cost flights.”
“Our new base means pilots and cabin crew who live here can come home after a day’s flying and enjoy the lifestyle that the region has to offer. We also know that our customers love to support local as much as we do and an additional 11 routes on the Bonza map will mean even more positive demand for products on our all Aussie menu. Many of our menu providers have seen growth in their own businesses with some hiring new staff and taking out larger premises as a direct result of our partnership with them. We thank Gold Coast Airport, and the broader Queensland Airports Limited team, for their partnership in bringing more purple to our skies.”
Also commenting on the opening of Bonza’s third base, Queensland Airports Limited’s CEO, Amelia Evans, added,
“This is a significant announcement, the commencement of these new routes will deliver more than one hundred million dollars in economic benefit to this region each year. Not only will Bonza bring more tourists to the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales region, giving our destination an opportunity to showcase our region, it will also open up connections for our locals to connect with loved ones across regional Australia. Many of these routes are new to our network and they’re also very competitively priced which is great news for our customers and for visitors to our region.”
This next stage of Bonza’s growth will see 70 new weekly flights and nearly 700,000 seats annually to and from Gold Coast Airport. The new base will ultimately create over 100 direct jobs, and the carrier plans on starting recruitment soon.
Bonza is Australia’s new, and only independent low-cost carrier (LCC), enabling Australians to explore more of their own backyard at low prices. The airline currently operates a fleet of five brand new Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft, which will grow to eight by the end of the first year of operations. Over 90 percent of Bonza’s routes are not served by any airline, and 96 percent are not served by a low-cost carrier. The lowest fares are now available for booking on the FlyBonza App.
Source: Bonza