An open letter to Bonza Customers

We’re months into operations now and I wanted to share an update with you, including some reflections, learnings and changes with all this in mind.

We know that when people fly with us, they have a Bonza experience onboard. Your feedback is clear and so appreciated - you love the brand new shiny purple planes, our all Aussie tucker and thirst quenchers on demand via the app and our crew legends. But, we also know that in the past couple of months, not everyone has had a good experience with Bonza and we need to stare directly into why that is - specifically when we cancel or delay flights.

So in order for us to earn your trust, as we know that we’re at the start of that journey, we have decided to take a step back to allow our services to become more reliable. We will be implementing a range of changes to our schedule from 1 August based on what we have learnt so far and the feedback you’ve given us with regards to route demand.

You could say, we’re taking a step back to allow us to take a leap forward. Airlines the world over often tweak their schedules and, for Bonza, this will be the first time we make changes to frequency and routes so we wanted to be really transparent around the changes and why we feel they are really important to deliver on customer commitment.

We’ve been compelled to take out five routes where there isn’t sustainable demand at present: Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour, Sunshine Coast to Port Macquarie, Sunshine Coast to Tamworth, Cairns to Mackay and Toowoomba Wellcamp to Whitsunday Coast. Twenty two routes remain and we’re reducing some routes by one flight per week. Three of the many strong performing routes, namely Sunshine Coast to Albury and Melbourne (Avalon) plus Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Port Macquarie, will welcome a new service each week.

Customers booked on routes impacted (from 1st August to 28th October) will be contacted by our support team via SMS and will automatically receive a full refund or alternate flights with Bonza, depending on their scenario. To those customers who have or will face a cancelled flight - we apologise. You do not need to do anything as our team will be in touch. Australia has been waiting for a new airline and you've welcomed us with open arms and it is on us to deliver more consistently. These changes allow us to maintain the many great aspects of the Bonza experience whilst also doubling down on consistently delivering reliability.

By removing some flying from our schedule, and going where there is demand, we are achieving two things. Firstly, the changes will allow us to build in additional spare capacity within our current fleet of four aircraft, so we have a buffer when things don’t go to plan (and they will by virtue of being an airline). Secondly, by focusing on routes that are performing very well, we’re also taking decisive action by going where the demand is and in turn, setting Bonza up for the long haul - because competition in the airline industry is a good thing and the demand for Bonza is clear.

Very soon we will be on sale with our late October to April 2024 schedule which means travellers can book flights for their summer holidays, Christmas or Easter 2024. We’re also working to establish a third base and with that will come new job opportunities and new routes to existing and new destinations. With that growth will come additional aircraft (and worry not, we’ll be calling on you to name them for us!), more home grown products on our menu and improvements to the Fly Bonza app to make it better with each update or download.

We are learning quickly and looking to the future. Our sole mission is maintaining a safe, sensible and sustainable airline that Aussies can enjoy and trust for years to come.

Kind regards,

Carly Povey, Chief Commercial Officer