Bonza has its AOC
Promised refunds for Bonza customers not possible, says airline’s administrator.
By ROBYN IRONSIDE AVIATION WRITER
7:12PM MAY 1, 2024
Administrators of budget carrier Bonza have delivered a blow to customers promised refunds for cancelled flights, after examining the finances of the grounded airline.
Hall Chadwick was appointed administrator on Tuesday, after Bonza’s small fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8s were repossessed by leasing company AIP Capital.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, Hall Chadwick said there had been “open dialogue” with the lessor.
“We have also today met with the company’s chief financial officer to go through the financial position of Bonza with a view to updating creditors of that position in due course,” said Hall Chadwick.
But there was bad news for passengers left stranded and out of pocket by the sudden cancellation of their flights on Tuesday through to at least Friday.
“Unfortunately, the administrators and/or the company are not in a position to process or issue refunds at this time,” said the statement.
“We understand how frustrating this is and we appreciate customers patience at this time.”
There remained hope Bonza’s operations could be salvaged, with the administrator meeting with “key industry participants” within Australia and overseas Tuesday night and Wednesday.
“These meetings are ongoing and will continue tonight and tomorrow,” said the administrator.
Bonza CEO Tim Jordan remained out of communication after telling employees late Tuesday it had been “a shocking day” and “quite unexpected”.
The airline’s owners 777 Partners were also keeping their heads down.
Australian Airports Association chief executive James Goodwin said the suspension of Bonza services this week was expected to impact 183 flights and 33,106 passengers.
“This is a sad time for aviation and a major blow for competition,” said Mr Goodwin.
“The immediate concern is with the people affected – the passengers who’ve had plans disrupted and the workers with uncertain futures.”
He said airports had worked hard to establish relationships with Bonza, with the airline flying to 32 airports before its sudden halt on Tuesday.
“On routes where Bonza has been competing with other airlines such as Melbourne-Gold Coast, the data is clear – Bonza has been instrumental in improving competition and pushing down airfares,” Mr Goodwin said.
Virgin Australia, Qantas and Jetstar continued to provide support for Bonza passengers caught up in the sudden grounding, booking well over 2000 customers on new flights free of charge.
The airlines were also encouraging Bonza crew to visit their dedicated online recruitment pages, should they wish to pursue job opportunities in the aviation industry.
Transport Minister Catherine King praised the efforts of rival carriers and conceded it wasn’t looking good for Bonza.
Speaking on ABC radio on Wednesday, Ms King said it appeared unlikely the airline would return to the skies.
“We’ve been speaking to the administrators overnight, they’re trying to get the airline back up and running,” said Ms King.
“It’s unlikely that will happen.”
Griffith University adjunct industry fellow Justin Wastnage, an expert in aviation policy, said the economics of Bonza’s model did not really add up.
He said the strategy of serving smaller regional centres with large narrow body aircraft was problematic.
“It all comes down to population density, and to fill a large narrow body aircraft such as a Boeing 737, there’s a magical figure of a population of over 100,000,” said Mr Wastnage.
“If you look at North America, there’s about 250 cities of more than 100,000, and Europe has about 400 cities.
Within Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia combined, there’s 27 cities.”
There were mixed views about whether Bonza would be rescued from administration, with concern Australia simply could not support a fourth airline, as demonstrated by a string of other failures such as Compass I and II, Impulse, Air Australia and Tigerair.
But Mr Wastnage said Bonza’s AOC (air operators certificate) would be considered valuable, along with a “reasonable customer mailing list”.
“Because you could only book Bonza through its app, and more recently its website, there was considerable customer loyalty there,” he said.
“That’s definitely an asset.”
By ROBYN IRONSIDE AVIATION WRITER
7:12PM MAY 1, 2024
Administrators of budget carrier Bonza have delivered a blow to customers promised refunds for cancelled flights, after examining the finances of the grounded airline.
Hall Chadwick was appointed administrator on Tuesday, after Bonza’s small fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8s were repossessed by leasing company AIP Capital.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, Hall Chadwick said there had been “open dialogue” with the lessor.
“We have also today met with the company’s chief financial officer to go through the financial position of Bonza with a view to updating creditors of that position in due course,” said Hall Chadwick.
But there was bad news for passengers left stranded and out of pocket by the sudden cancellation of their flights on Tuesday through to at least Friday.
“Unfortunately, the administrators and/or the company are not in a position to process or issue refunds at this time,” said the statement.
“We understand how frustrating this is and we appreciate customers patience at this time.”
There remained hope Bonza’s operations could be salvaged, with the administrator meeting with “key industry participants” within Australia and overseas Tuesday night and Wednesday.
“These meetings are ongoing and will continue tonight and tomorrow,” said the administrator.
Bonza CEO Tim Jordan remained out of communication after telling employees late Tuesday it had been “a shocking day” and “quite unexpected”.
The airline’s owners 777 Partners were also keeping their heads down.
Australian Airports Association chief executive James Goodwin said the suspension of Bonza services this week was expected to impact 183 flights and 33,106 passengers.
“This is a sad time for aviation and a major blow for competition,” said Mr Goodwin.
“The immediate concern is with the people affected – the passengers who’ve had plans disrupted and the workers with uncertain futures.”
He said airports had worked hard to establish relationships with Bonza, with the airline flying to 32 airports before its sudden halt on Tuesday.
“On routes where Bonza has been competing with other airlines such as Melbourne-Gold Coast, the data is clear – Bonza has been instrumental in improving competition and pushing down airfares,” Mr Goodwin said.
Virgin Australia, Qantas and Jetstar continued to provide support for Bonza passengers caught up in the sudden grounding, booking well over 2000 customers on new flights free of charge.
The airlines were also encouraging Bonza crew to visit their dedicated online recruitment pages, should they wish to pursue job opportunities in the aviation industry.
Transport Minister Catherine King praised the efforts of rival carriers and conceded it wasn’t looking good for Bonza.
Speaking on ABC radio on Wednesday, Ms King said it appeared unlikely the airline would return to the skies.
“We’ve been speaking to the administrators overnight, they’re trying to get the airline back up and running,” said Ms King.
“It’s unlikely that will happen.”
Griffith University adjunct industry fellow Justin Wastnage, an expert in aviation policy, said the economics of Bonza’s model did not really add up.
He said the strategy of serving smaller regional centres with large narrow body aircraft was problematic.
“It all comes down to population density, and to fill a large narrow body aircraft such as a Boeing 737, there’s a magical figure of a population of over 100,000,” said Mr Wastnage.
“If you look at North America, there’s about 250 cities of more than 100,000, and Europe has about 400 cities.
Within Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia combined, there’s 27 cities.”
There were mixed views about whether Bonza would be rescued from administration, with concern Australia simply could not support a fourth airline, as demonstrated by a string of other failures such as Compass I and II, Impulse, Air Australia and Tigerair.
But Mr Wastnage said Bonza’s AOC (air operators certificate) would be considered valuable, along with a “reasonable customer mailing list”.
“Because you could only book Bonza through its app, and more recently its website, there was considerable customer loyalty there,” he said.
“That’s definitely an asset.”
If that crowd were not trading while insolvent, I would be very, very surprised.
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They won’t be staying here unfortunately, they’re going back to their first paint scheme … LOT polish airlines
As covered by a knowledgeable poster a few pages back, JQ traffic had fallen by 6 percent from BNE to some of the cities Bonza served from MCY/OOL. Their unusually low blanket prices (which will now disappear) reflected this.
