RIP Bonza
 

Good while it lasted…..

https://www.afr.com/companies/transp...0240430-p5fnjf

I know it’s on a paywall - but you can get the drift ….

The parent company that owns the aircraft leased to Bonza has repossessed the Fleet. Bonza may be the meat in the sandwich here. Seems that company was not making the payments but Bonza was. I dont know who owns who.

777 offloaded its fleet to AIP recently. Bonza send payments to AIP. 777 don’t own aircraft anymore.

Tim Jordan has been running an insolvency firm. Lies lies and lies for months.

Watch him try to blame this on someone else.

Are we really surprised? Honestly this was doomed from the start. All it did was give some jet hours to those that needed them and they can now move on to better prospects. Never been a better time to be made redundant.

Weren't a lot of Bonza crew ex VA with a right of return? Hopefully can back into VA soon if that's the case.

Not quite, the Aircraft have been with AIP from day dot, with AIP being almost 50:50 owned by management and 777partners. On April 9 a new entity called phoenix aviation capital (interesting name) took over the 777 partners share. Phoenix is owned 100% by a U.S-based insurance and financial services holding company with approximately $11 billion of assets under management.

Those with short memories have probably forgotten Tim’s statement just before launch that Bonza needed a load factor of 80% to pay all the bills and was very confident that would happen.

making a go of a couple of routes won’t support a network. I saw his BP before he secured 777Partners and it was pitching rapid growth tapping un or non serviced markets.

shades of JetGo, Strategic, Sky World, Air Australia

Australian airline Bonza cancels all flights amid reports planes repossessed

Amelia McGuireApril 30, 2024, • 09:22am

• All flights by Australian carrier Bonza have been cancelled.
• Reports say some aircraft have been repossessed.
• It is the first high-capacity, low-cost carrier to launch in Australia since now-defunct Virgin subsidiary Tigerair took off 15 years ago.

All flights operated by budget carrier Bonza have been wiped from Australia’s departure boards on Tuesday as the outlook for the country’s smallest airline grows more uncertain.

Passengers attempting to fly from the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Avalon arrived at the respective airports on Tuesday morning to find their flights had been cancelled.

Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan apologised to customers in a statement and said he was considering the viability of the business, but did not confirm or deny whether any of its aircraft had been repossessed as reported by The Australian Financial Review.

“Bonza has temporarily suspended services due to be operated today (Tuesday April 30) as discussions are under way regarding the ongoing viability of the business,” said Jordan.

“We apologise to customers who are impacted by this, and we’re working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market.”
Australian discount airline Bonza is in strife after multiple domestic flights were cancelled.
SUPPLIED

Bonza has previously denied engaging restructuring firm KordaMentha to work on its future.

The airline launched its ambitious plan to fly to largely unserviced parts of Australia with low-cost fares in January last year. Since then, it has cut a swathe of routes last year due to a lack of demand in an attempt to boost reliability on its more popular services.

Bonza’s fleet was originally owned by its parent company, 777 Partners, but the private equity group’s creditors have since created a new vehicle which now owns the company’s 30 Max-8 aircraf

Over the past year, Bonza has been hamstrung by fleet issues, with multiple Bonza branded planes redirected to one of 777 Partners’ other airlines.
Bonza’s fleet of four Boeing 737 Max-8s has been struggling to service its route map and also cater to pilot training requirements. This has resulted in many frustrated customers experiencing last-minute cancellations or delays, while aspiring pilots are unable to complete their training as scheduled.

It is the first high-capacity, low-cost carrier to launch in Australia since now-defunct Virgin subsidiary Tigerair took off 15 years ago. It has positioned itself as a leisure carrier targeting tourism destinations in regional Australia, rather than competing with Qantas or Virgin, which service high-frequency routes.

Although it is a model that has worked well across Europe and Asia, critics have expressed concern Bonza’s structure is unsustainable due to Australia’s size and small population.
- Sydney Morning Herald

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/35026...es-repossessed

It’s a shame, I think it’s great they gave it a go. But sadly seems to prove that Australia just does not have the market to support another major(ish) airline. It’s now been tried more times than I care to think about and always ends like this.

Hope the staff all land on their feet quickly. As someone else said, it’s probably the best time to be a qualified jet jockey in Australia.

Very sad day for the staff and suppliers who are owed money as well as the public that even more so now are at the mercy of the Qantas close to monopoly.

Commercial suicide not caused by those other parties.

the market speaks and those relatively small markets cannot sustain 185 seat jets that cost a bundle to run even with low maintenance but there are reserves and lease payments not to mention the fuel bills

Yes, looks like it's a bust. History repeats.
Sorry for the staff that have to find a new job, however, I assume the head honchos have managed to add a couple zeros to their bank balances during Bonza's existence.

Any Bonza guys/gals looking for an immediate opportunity in the USA, I have a good contact in Atlas. Please PM me.

Just for info. Texel was looking desperately for 737-800 crew in Darwin !!!

Now in VA...

Korda didnt want it - as was high risk

Unlikely to see any new entrants for a long long time now. Financials will obviously be released shortly from the administrators, but the analysis I did in the prior month indicated it was bleeding heavily. That was at odds with Bonza had been claiming, and I held a strong belief they had been lying, to staff, suppliers and likely even its backer.

I do recall Tim Jordan tipped in some of his own cash, in the millions. I wonder where he sits on the creditor list.

The business plan was always madness, you can’t put a high density Jet in thin routes like that at a low cost point.

One of Australia’s resident aviation expert has been busy hitting the airwaves, with the demise of Bonza.

Thankfully Australia has Qantasflot to keep us flying!

Remember how Qantas led by Geoff Dixon stepped up and saved the day when Ansett stopped operating. Brought a tear to my eye, not to mention the hip pocket!

RIP Bonza.

Maybe the E-190 or similar might have worked. I have no knowledge of how this business plan was developed for Australian operations, but one suspects that with 777 Partners, as both airline owner and initial lessor, there was little choice of aircraft involved as they had many 737 Max 8 aircraft on order. That is an inherent conflict. Perhaps somebody with real knowledge of the situation will soon be able to deny or confirm my armchair speculation. But 186 seats on routes such as Mildura to Sunshine Coast or Toowoomba to Townsville is extremely ambitious.