Bonza has its AOC
RyanAir is based in Europe, you know the place with thousands of secondary airports around hundreds of large cities and a population of 800 million. Compared to Australia with a few long runways here and there, and 95% of the 27 million population living in the 5 main cities, which airports are already almost 100% saturated during peak times.
I don’t think Bonza could even get new aircraft online within a short period with no sim time anywhere, and well, they barely have any pilots. Be a struggle to crew anything much bigger.
Press release from Bonza. dated 13th July
Five routes have been cut from the schedule. Company cites very poor bookings being the cause.
Subscribe to the Cairns Post all the daily newspapers are carrying the story, (behind paywall)
Bonza airline to axe five regional Australia routes due to low patronage | Transport | The Guardian (open article)
Five routes have been cut from the schedule. Company cites very poor bookings being the cause.
Subscribe to the Cairns Post all the daily newspapers are carrying the story, (behind paywall)
Bonza airline to axe five regional Australia routes due to low patronage | Transport | The Guardian (open article)
Recalling from memory ...
Compass I, followed by Compass II, followed by Air Australia (Strategic Airlines) and the Melbourne or Essendon based Oz Jet. They all failed and they had lower operating costs and a far less demanding CASA at the time. Pre-loved aircraft, not new off the factory floor with higher lease payments.
Bonza will go the same way; crippling overheads and new aircraft lease payments in times of a faltering economy.
Compass I, followed by Compass II, followed by Air Australia (Strategic Airlines) and the Melbourne or Essendon based Oz Jet. They all failed and they had lower operating costs and a far less demanding CASA at the time. Pre-loved aircraft, not new off the factory floor with higher lease payments.
Bonza will go the same way; crippling overheads and new aircraft lease payments in times of a faltering economy.
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Port Moresby - The beer is cold at the Aviat and Car Clubs
Posts: 282
Likes: 0
Received 12 Likes
on
10 Posts
Bonza is operating with one hand tied behind their backs. When you have to pay 3rd party suppliers for offshore Sim training, then cost are too high. Crew travel, accomodation, the $$$ all add up..
Take the three major airline operators in PNG for example.
Air Niugini with Boeing 767, 737, Fokker 100, 70, Dash 8, 200,300 400 series.
PNG Air with Dash 8's and ATR's and
Hevilift PNG with ATR's.
All offshore training and recurrency.
Take the three major airline operators in PNG for example.
Air Niugini with Boeing 767, 737, Fokker 100, 70, Dash 8, 200,300 400 series.
PNG Air with Dash 8's and ATR's and
Hevilift PNG with ATR's.
All offshore training and recurrency.
The issue is, the bigger they get, the worse the cash burn gets. The Pommy Management at Tiger had the idea, in that as they grew, it’s scale that now becomes key in reducing costs, so we are not going to spend anything. That idea actually cost them more, vs investing the required amounts as a small nimble carrier. It’s a bit like spending next months revenue to pay the previous quarters invoices. It’s catches up to you eventually.
The sweet spot will likely be around 15 aircraft. I don’t think they would be even able to get the engineering and flight ops capability to service such a number, happy to be proven wrong. I would look at investing in internal simulators right about now, tap off some government handouts like Rex has been done.
The following users liked this post:
Recalling from memory ...
Compass I, followed by Compass II, followed by Air Australia (Strategic Airlines) and the Melbourne or Essendon based Oz Jet. They all failed and they had lower operating costs and a far less demanding CASA at the time. Pre-loved aircraft, not new off the factory floor with higher lease payments.
Bonza will go the same way; crippling overheads and new aircraft lease payments in times of a faltering economy.
Compass I, followed by Compass II, followed by Air Australia (Strategic Airlines) and the Melbourne or Essendon based Oz Jet. They all failed and they had lower operating costs and a far less demanding CASA at the time. Pre-loved aircraft, not new off the factory floor with higher lease payments.
Bonza will go the same way; crippling overheads and new aircraft lease payments in times of a faltering economy.
MALT FAMILY TRUST v 777 PARTNERS ET AL
Filing Date: Tuesday , July 26th, 2022
Type: 2A - CIVIL ACTIONS
Status: ACTIVE - ACTIVE
Believe the Oz ran a story on this last week.
The issue for Bonza will likely the same as Tiger. Now before we all get executed for bringing down the new guys, we all would love to see it succeed, but we have all seen the same thing before. Don’t blame us for being skeptical.
The issue is, the bigger they get, the worse the cash burn gets. The Pommy Management at Tiger had the idea, in that as they grew, it’s scale that now becomes key in reducing costs, so we are not going to spend anything. That idea actually cost them more, vs investing the required amounts as a small nimble carrier. It’s a bit like spending next months revenue to pay the previous quarters invoices. It’s catches up to you eventually.
The sweet spot will likely be around 15 aircraft. I don’t think they would be even able to get the engineering and flight ops capability to service such a number, happy to be proven wrong. I would look at investing in internal simulators right about now, tap off some government handouts like Rex has been done.
The issue is, the bigger they get, the worse the cash burn gets. The Pommy Management at Tiger had the idea, in that as they grew, it’s scale that now becomes key in reducing costs, so we are not going to spend anything. That idea actually cost them more, vs investing the required amounts as a small nimble carrier. It’s a bit like spending next months revenue to pay the previous quarters invoices. It’s catches up to you eventually.
The sweet spot will likely be around 15 aircraft. I don’t think they would be even able to get the engineering and flight ops capability to service such a number, happy to be proven wrong. I would look at investing in internal simulators right about now, tap off some government handouts like Rex has been done.
Aren't they?
There’s a whiff of something unsavoury in their parent company’s dealings. Everything I read about those guys makes me think of Miami Vice plot lines.
Rich folk with cash to burn have proven time and again that they really don't understand capital intensive transport sectors like Aviation. Most successful long term business models have started small and built up over time, usually from family orientated owners with interest in the sector. The push for low cost has seen so many failures over time as they just don't understand how machines can be fickle, problems with reliability, obsolescence and highly skilled workforce that suffer from gluts of availability. They see massive revenues.but forget the huge cost factors and think they will be the ones to reign in cost factors and make billions. Once you buy into aviation you then have to wait years for a return on the investment, or that's what you are told, the reality sets in a few years later that you will be continuing to pump cash into the venture to keep it afloat, by then it's too late and you have to 're-brand' to make the business appear viable and use promises like 'on-track for profit by ...'. Again the reality is, you are just putting make-up on the pig for a quick sale to get some of your money back and let some other sucker learn the deal...
If you are lucky you buy into something that has recently recapitalized and you can burn the warehouse for cash profit, until nothings left and then sell whats left to another unsuspecting fool who looks at the past P&L and thinks its a sure deal. After all they are only 10 year old airframes, last guy signed up all the EBAs and contracts, things seem to be all running fine, until... Oops whats that about 12 year parts life, warranty expiration's, pilots and engineers are unhappy about their force negotiated EBAs, no one wants to work for minimum wage as handlers and loaders, what, fuel can jump that much in one year!!, you pay what for a gate?? last guy sold all the maintenance facilities and now outsourced costs have tripled, huh, who stopped making the engines on most of our aircraft??? Oh well, we can always screw the pilots out of another million in lost wages...What? no more pilots?
If you are lucky you buy into something that has recently recapitalized and you can burn the warehouse for cash profit, until nothings left and then sell whats left to another unsuspecting fool who looks at the past P&L and thinks its a sure deal. After all they are only 10 year old airframes, last guy signed up all the EBAs and contracts, things seem to be all running fine, until... Oops whats that about 12 year parts life, warranty expiration's, pilots and engineers are unhappy about their force negotiated EBAs, no one wants to work for minimum wage as handlers and loaders, what, fuel can jump that much in one year!!, you pay what for a gate?? last guy sold all the maintenance facilities and now outsourced costs have tripled, huh, who stopped making the engines on most of our aircraft??? Oh well, we can always screw the pilots out of another million in lost wages...What? no more pilots?
Good results for the Bonza fanbois is sub 60% load factor across all routes ex Mcy based on the companies own data, the yield must be horrific based on the airfares on offer everyday.
The push for low cost has seen so many failures over time as they just don't understand how machines can be fickle, problems with reliability, obsolescence and highly skilled workforce that suffer from gluts of availability. They see massive revenues.but forget the huge cost factors and think they will be the ones to reign in cost factors and make billions.
However it does seem 777 operate differently. Do they even care how the airline investment is run? They only hold a 10-25% share in most cases. According to reports they make the cash from 18% finance loans, 20% surcharges on lease payments, lease out its own internal digital bookings platforms. The list goes on.
It’s pretty clear if one was to bleed an airline dry, 777 won’t be the one in the red, seems to be quite the opposite.
The following users liked this post:
Bonza pauses summer holiday bookings to passengers’ surprise
By ROBYN IRONSIDE
AVIATION WRITER
Low-cost carrier Bonza is currently not taking bookings beyond October as the airline reworks its schedule following multiple route cuts.
The short window for bookings has surprised some potential passengers, seeking to fly Bonza in the summer holiday period.
The majority of airlines allow bookings up to 12-months in advance and make network adjustments as necessary.
Bonza chief commercial officer Carly Povey said travellers would be able to book flights beyond October until Easter 2024, from next month.
“The schedule that travellers can expect to go on sale is aligned to our revised schedule that comes into operation from August 1, including 16 destinations and 22 routes,” Ms Povey said.
“The starting fares remain the same with flights from $49 to $89 per person one way.”
The US-owned airline announced last week it was cutting back from 27 routes and 17 destinations due to poor demand. Those affected included the Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Tamworth; Cairns to Mackay and Toowoomba to the Whitsundays.
Other routes faced a reduction in frequency from three to two flights a week, while the Sunshine Coast to Albury, Sunshine Coast to Avalon and Melbourne to Port Macquarie would score an extra weekly service.
Travellers with bookings on axed routes were promised full refunds if an alternative flight was not possible.
As well as the problem of low patronage on certain routes, Bonza was struggling to avoid cancellations due to its small fleet of four Boeing 737 Max 8.
Ms Povey said the smaller network would allow one aircraft to remain on standby to “step in” adding resilience to their operations.
Bonza was expecting to increase its fleet size to eight, but it was not clear when more aircraft would begin to arrive.
A spokeswoman confirmed the new schedule to be released next month was designed for their current fleet size, and would be adjusted as new 737-8s were delivered.
Ms Povey said a third base for the airline, in addition to the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne, would be announced in “coming weeks and months” so they could start recruiting people before more flights were put on sale.
“The operation of the third base will involve additional aircraft to our current fleet of four,” said Ms Povey.
Plans for the low-cost carrier were announced in October 2021, but commercial passenger flights only began in late January this year, after delays in regulatory approval.
Since then, more than 330,000 bookings have been received through the FlyBonza app, which has been downloaded more than 1.25 million times.
The airline spokeswoman said downloads had continued at a steady rate since route cuts were flagged last week, and they were expecting strong demand for the summer holiday period.
Bonza’s business model involved the airline operating on routes not flown by other airlines or at least other low-cost carriers, with the exception of a few out of Melbourne.
Owner 777 Partners recently told The Australian they remained “steadfast in our support of the airlines we work with”.
As well as Bonza, the Miami-based investment firm held stakes in Canada’s Flair Airlines and was in the process of taking a share of South Korea’s Eastar airlines.
By ROBYN IRONSIDE
AVIATION WRITER
Low-cost carrier Bonza is currently not taking bookings beyond October as the airline reworks its schedule following multiple route cuts.
The short window for bookings has surprised some potential passengers, seeking to fly Bonza in the summer holiday period.
The majority of airlines allow bookings up to 12-months in advance and make network adjustments as necessary.
Bonza chief commercial officer Carly Povey said travellers would be able to book flights beyond October until Easter 2024, from next month.
“The schedule that travellers can expect to go on sale is aligned to our revised schedule that comes into operation from August 1, including 16 destinations and 22 routes,” Ms Povey said.
“The starting fares remain the same with flights from $49 to $89 per person one way.”
The US-owned airline announced last week it was cutting back from 27 routes and 17 destinations due to poor demand. Those affected included the Sunshine Coast to Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Tamworth; Cairns to Mackay and Toowoomba to the Whitsundays.
Other routes faced a reduction in frequency from three to two flights a week, while the Sunshine Coast to Albury, Sunshine Coast to Avalon and Melbourne to Port Macquarie would score an extra weekly service.
Travellers with bookings on axed routes were promised full refunds if an alternative flight was not possible.
As well as the problem of low patronage on certain routes, Bonza was struggling to avoid cancellations due to its small fleet of four Boeing 737 Max 8.
Ms Povey said the smaller network would allow one aircraft to remain on standby to “step in” adding resilience to their operations.
Bonza was expecting to increase its fleet size to eight, but it was not clear when more aircraft would begin to arrive.
A spokeswoman confirmed the new schedule to be released next month was designed for their current fleet size, and would be adjusted as new 737-8s were delivered.
Ms Povey said a third base for the airline, in addition to the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne, would be announced in “coming weeks and months” so they could start recruiting people before more flights were put on sale.
“The operation of the third base will involve additional aircraft to our current fleet of four,” said Ms Povey.
Plans for the low-cost carrier were announced in October 2021, but commercial passenger flights only began in late January this year, after delays in regulatory approval.
Since then, more than 330,000 bookings have been received through the FlyBonza app, which has been downloaded more than 1.25 million times.
The airline spokeswoman said downloads had continued at a steady rate since route cuts were flagged last week, and they were expecting strong demand for the summer holiday period.
Bonza’s business model involved the airline operating on routes not flown by other airlines or at least other low-cost carriers, with the exception of a few out of Melbourne.
Owner 777 Partners recently told The Australian they remained “steadfast in our support of the airlines we work with”.
As well as Bonza, the Miami-based investment firm held stakes in Canada’s Flair Airlines and was in the process of taking a share of South Korea’s Eastar airlines.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...dfcf9ee08800db
Another paywall article just appeared, this one is certainly interesting.
777 already looking to offload. I guess they haven’t burnt $1b in losses quite yet like its predecessor did over 13 years. Probably a good time to get out!
Street Talk can reveal Miami-based private investment firm 777 Partners – which does its M&A work in-house but will seek external counsel when required – has been in discussions with local advisory firms as it seeks assistance with inbound interest in the airline. It owns the vast majority of the company – with Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan having a small interest – and it is not clear whether it would sell down its holding.
In its discussions, sources told Street Talk, 777 is eyeing a $100 million valuation on Bonza, which launched only this year. While no decisions have been made, it is in the preliminary stages of reviewing other potential sources of capital that would serve to turbocharge its growth strategy.
The private equity firm has plenty of other investments around the world, including a stake in Canadian budget airline Flair and in A-League team Melbourne Victory.
Last week, Bonza said it was cutting five routes from its schedule as it waits for planes that are operating during the northern hemisphere summer to arrive in Australia later this year. The carrier began flying at the end of January from bases in Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, and has since boosted the local low-cost carrier industry from 60 routes to 80 routes.
777 already looking to offload. I guess they haven’t burnt $1b in losses quite yet like its predecessor did over 13 years. Probably a good time to get out!
Fasten your seatbelts, Bonza fields inbound interest
Jul 16, 2023 – 6.03pmThe private equity interests behind Bonza, the latest to try its hand at breaking into the ultra-competitive Australian aviation market, are considering whether to bring in new capital partners to back the airline’s expansion into a full-scale domestic carrier.Street Talk can reveal Miami-based private investment firm 777 Partners – which does its M&A work in-house but will seek external counsel when required – has been in discussions with local advisory firms as it seeks assistance with inbound interest in the airline. It owns the vast majority of the company – with Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan having a small interest – and it is not clear whether it would sell down its holding.
In its discussions, sources told Street Talk, 777 is eyeing a $100 million valuation on Bonza, which launched only this year. While no decisions have been made, it is in the preliminary stages of reviewing other potential sources of capital that would serve to turbocharge its growth strategy.
The private equity firm has plenty of other investments around the world, including a stake in Canadian budget airline Flair and in A-League team Melbourne Victory.
Last week, Bonza said it was cutting five routes from its schedule as it waits for planes that are operating during the northern hemisphere summer to arrive in Australia later this year. The carrier began flying at the end of January from bases in Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, and has since boosted the local low-cost carrier industry from 60 routes to 80 routes.
Go hard or go home guys!