Bonza Announces Route Cuts, Additional Capacity Changes
In an open letter released to the public today, Australia’s Bonza has announced network changes including route cuts and further capacity changes to combat their recent unreliability including long delays and somewhat frequent flight cancellations. From August 1st, 5 routes will be dropped from Bonza’s network, with others losing one weekly flight.
Routes Cut:
Sunshine Coast → Coffs Harbour
Sunshine Coast → Port Macquarie
Sunshine Coast → Tamworth
Cairns → Mackay
Toowoomba Wellcamp → Whitsunday Coast
Extra Frequencies
However, three of Bonza’s best performing routes will see an extra service per week due to their strong demand. These routes are:
Sunshine Coast → Albury
Sunshine Coast → Melbourne (Avalon)
Melbourne (Tullamarine) → Port Macquarie
It is unclear which routes will see a see a drop in frequency and with these changes being made just under 5 months into their operations, after months of unreliability, these comments were made by Bonza’s Chief Commercial Officer:
“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.”
Carly Povy
Bonza also outlines why these changes are taking place…
“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 focussing 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.”
Carly Povy
My Opinion
These changes could not have come at a better time for Bonza. Having attempted a trip with them only to have my flight resheduled to a different day and then cancelled, it’s great to see Bonza make these decisions to ensure their operations run smoother than they have previously.
5 to 6 hour hour delays were not uncommon with Bonza, and with some passengers enduring a 11 to 12 hour delay at times, it’s clear that there was the need for such changes to occur before reputation was tarnished further. Having a restrictive fleet and an expansive network isn’t easy to manage and while these cuts are disappointing and not encouraging, it allows the airline to look further into the future.
Bonza’s late October to April 2024 schedule is soon to be announced, with tickets going on sale shortly after. To read the open letter for yourself, see the link below:
What do you think? Will Bonza survive long term? Where would you like to see them fly? Let everyone know by posting a comment below!