From the time Bonza launched its first service in January its focus has been on connections, be that connecting communities or connecting itself to its customers. Because the airline deals with some growing pains it has chosen to attach first with its customers by today sending them an open letter announcing adjustments to its network.
A step back for a step forward
That is the primary schedule change since Bonza rolled out the initial 27 routes and comes because the airline works to spice up service reliability and put capability where it’s most needed. Bonza is removing services on five routes where demand isn’t where it must be to sustain service, these being from the Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) to Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Tamworth, and from Cairns to Mackay and Toowoomba Wellcamp to Whitsunday Coast.
Photo: Bonza
While some routes could have their frequency reduced three of the most well-liked routes could have theirs increased. Services from the Sunshine Coast to Albury and Melbourne Avalon will get an additional weekly flight, as will the Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) path to Port Macquarie. The web effect is that five routes is not going to operate, but services on three others will see flights increase as a result of their popularity.
Easy Flying spoke with Bonza’s Chief Business Officer Carly Povey today, and she or he said that the airline has been experiencing some reliability issues, comparable to delays and cancelations, and it wants to handle those and shift aircraft capability. Australians will recall the recent issues Jetstar faced from bird and lightning strikes, and it appears that evidently Bonza has its own bad luck in that regard.
Photo: Bonza
Povey explained in an interview with Easy Flying that Bonza has had ten bird (including some bat) strikes in nine weeks and said that while that happens to all airlines Bonza has been statistically very unlucky.
“A few of those have caused aircraft to be grounded for as much as 4 days, and whenever you only have 4 aircraft it hits you twofold. Firstly it hits you in essentially the most obvious way but secondly, as we have now pilots going through the training program if we are usually not within the air we will not finish that training.
“It is the compounding impacts of those things and the impacts on the pilot pipeline which were the biggest driver of delays and cancellations. Maintenance issues have driven among the cancellations but downstream there are the domino effects of all of those things.”
While these issues are largely out of Bonza’s control, the airline has decided to regulate the network now and boost reliability back to where the shoppers expect it to be. Bonza also desires to right size its network for where demand is strongest, and right away meaning putting some routes on hold and adding flights on others, taking into consideration its fleet of just 4 Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Creating spare 737 MAX 8 capability
When Bonza launched each Povey and CEO Tim Jordan said there could be routes that will take more time to mature and that the network will must be reset to reflect that, which is what has been announced today. The airline also had planned on an initial fleet of 5 737s with one aircraft held as a spare for when unexpected surprises, like bat strikes, disrupted the operation.
Photo: Michael Doran I Easy Flying
Povey said that Bonza can be operating with 4 aircraft until later this yr, although the changes being made will produce the spare capability originally planned for. She added:
“These changes will liberate a full spare aircraft which provides us confidence that we have now that spare capability to supply support for when those things you possibly can’t predict go mistaken. In addition they give us the steadiness to go on sale for Christmas and Easter 2024 from early August, and additionally they give us a probability to stop and take a breath after which deal with launching base number three.”
Most Bonza customers can be unaware of the reliability issues, however the airline has got on the front foot to let the world know why the network is changing. It is comparable to what Qantas went through last yr when it adjusted flights to carry capability in reserve until its performance met customer expectations.
Any customers booked on routes impacted (from August 1st to October twenty eighth) can be contacted by Bonza via SMS and offered a full refund or alternate Bonza flights, depending on what they wish to do. Since launch, greater than 330,000 people have booked with Bonza and its app has been downloaded greater than 1.25 million times, with the airline voted within the Top 25 low-cost airlines globally by Airline Rankings.