Bonza Airline Connects Albury And Mildura To The Sunshine Coast

Albury and Mildura aren’t far away from connected to the Sunshine Coast after budget airline Bonza received the green light to fly.

Nearly a year after Bonza intended to launch, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on Thursday announced it had issued an air operator’s certificate.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The Victorian Briefing - keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:

The airline has created its first hub on the Sunshine coast – Melbourne to come second – and will be Australia’s only independent low-cost carrier.

Seventeen airports will initially be planned on offering services to; Albury and Mildura joining airports including Cairns, the Whitsunday Coast, Port Macquarie, Newcastle and Melbourne.

Bonza CEO Tim Jordan said ticket prices will be affordable for passengers, with tickets hopefully on sale from next week.

“We believe that fares should start from $50 for every hour that you fly,” Mr Jordan said.

“Now clearly we won’t be selling every seat at that level but that’s the sort of level where there will be good availability for fares.”

Bonza will focus mostly on leisure destinations and routes with no existing non-stop service and will avoid flights between capital cities, Jordan said.

Tickets will only be available on Bonza’s smartphone apps and through registered travel agents.

Introducing The Science Briefing: a podcast about the science of everything and your new go-to podcast for your snapshot of science news. Hosted by Dr Sophie Calabretto and featuring journalists from Cosmos Magazine. Hear is on the LiSTNR app now.