Easter and Queensland school holidays have kicked off with excitement today at Sunshine Coast Airport as Bonza’s first customer flight to Mildura took flight. Onboard were families who had ditched the two-day car journey in favour of a $79 flight (one way per person).

The new twice-weekly route comes as Bonza ramps up operations in time for the peak holiday season with its Melbourne base launched last week and new routes including Sunshine Coast to Albury‚ Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour getting wheels up this month.

“We are humbled to join customers on our first direct flight to Mildura from the Sunshine Coast today. Onboard are young families travelling to surprise grandparents who will get to see more of their grandkids now that it has become so much easier and affordable to fly. We’ve also got travellers visiting Mildura to explore its many great attractions including the Mildura 100 Ski Race held annually over Easter‚" said Tim Jordan‚ CEO of Bonza.

Travelling with Bonza today were a group of young nippers from Mooloolaba Surf Club who were flying to meet their counterparts in Mildura - home to Australia’s only inland surf lifesaving club.

“Connecting communities is part of Bonza’s mission and bringing together young surf lifesavers from Mooloolaba’s world-class surf beach to the mighty Murray River is a superb example‚” added Jordan.

There to welcome the flight was Mildura Airport CEO Trevor Willcock.

“The Mildura region has so much to offer visitors from the Sunshine Coast and surrounding areas and we are very excited to welcome those visitors to our beautiful region. We also have many travellers from our region keen to visit the Sunshine Coast and as such we believe that this will be a very popular route going both ways at such affordable prices‚” Mr Willcock said.

“The response to this new route has been extremely positive. In addition to the Sunshine Coast connection‚ additional flights to and from Melbourne will further strengthen our region’s connectivity with our State Capital and we know that this will also be a positive addition to our schedule. Exciting times ahead for Mildura!”

Sunshine Coast Airport CEO‚ Andrew Brodie said the introduction of this historic new route would see increased travel between the two destinations‚ and was an important economic enabler that would have far reaching benefits.

“The Sunshine Coast is a very attractive holiday destination for Victorians‚ but up until now getting here from places like Mildura has not been straightforward. This new route will make it easy for travellers to visit for a holiday‚ to visit friends or to reconnect with family.

“As each of the Bonza first flights has commenced‚ we have seen time and again the delight from passengers who are able to visit a grandchild for the first time‚ or the ease in which someone can quickly see an ill relative and it reminds us that we are in the business of connecting people to the moments that matter most - it’s why we do what we do‚” Mr Brodie said.

On 8 May‚ Bonza will introduce its direct Melbourne to Mildura service. Travellers are encouraged to download the Fly Bonza app which is the only place to book direct.