Bonza puts Melbourne base on sale

Carly Povey, chief commercial officer at Bonza.

Australia’s newest airline Bonza has sweetened the deal for Aussie travellers by putting its Melbourne base on sale with some routes available to travel for Easter.

Twelve routes to 11 destinations have been added to the Fly Bonza app with prices starting from $49 to $89 per person one way.

The news comes as Bonza continues to get wheels up across its route map of 17 destinations and 27 routes including its first flight to Victoria on Tuesday when the inaugural Sunshine Coast to Avalon took flight.

The purple party continued as Bonza arrived into Townsville for the first time and the airline touched down with customers for the first time in Rockhampton.

“Today is a huge day for Aussie travellers as we deliver on our promise to make air travel accessible to the many, not the few,” Carly Povey said, chief commercial officer at Bonza.

“Today millions more Aussies have the chance to book a low cost flight to see a loved one or explore their own backyard. As a proud Melbournite, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to fly directly to regional destinations to catch some winter sun in Queensland or explore the wine region of Mildura,” Ms Povey said.

The news means all of Bonza’s initial routes are now on sale with Aussies said to be embracing the airline’s app first approach.

“The routes on sale today use our Melbourne-based crew and aircraft including our fourth plane, Malc, named after a dear legend who recently passed away.“

Travellers can book now for Easter, July and September school holidays with flights available until the end of October.

The first flight from Melbourne Airport is confirmed for 30 March and travellers are encouraged to get in quick to be part of Australian aviation history that day.

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos welcomed the news.

“Melbourne Airport is proud to be the only capital city destination on Bonza’s launch network as well as the airline’s second hub. Having Bonza’s brand new aircraft and crew based in Melbourne is a huge win for the local economy and means more jobs for the state’s aviation and tourism sectors.

“Many of the routes going on sale today are not currently flown and will give Victorians more travel options while also making it easier for regional Australians to visit the nation’s capital of food, sport and culture.”

From here, the airline will welcome its fifth aircraft which will also call Melbourne home.

“After that, we focus on earning the right to grow. Our intention is to have up to eight aircraft in our first year of operation which will enable us to connect many more communities where travel right now often means impossibly long road trips or flights connecting through major city airports,” Ms Povey said.