Bonza ei ole uhka vanhoille lentoyhtiöille, sanoo toimitusjohtaja Tim Jordan

Speaking to the Australian Aviation podcast, which you can listen to above, Jordan said, “We may get the odd customer who happens to fortuitously find that, on a Tuesday, we happen to be flying between the Sunshine Coast and Mildura, and that may happen to coincide with their plans.

“If they happen to live on the Sunshine Coast and want to transit normally via Melbourne, then we may see that customer rather than somebody else.

“However, I think the chances of that happening are pretty few and far between. More likely, what we’re seeing is we are generating new traffic because all of a sudden, friends and family, from whether it’s the Sunshine Coast or Mildura, can actually get to see each other – or perhaps if you’re in Mildura, you want to head to the beach, up to Queensland, or vice versa, head back home to Mildura.”

Bonza on ensimmäinen australialainen operaattori, joka yrittää lentää niin sanottuja "pisteestä pisteeseen" vapaa-ajan palveluita, jotka ohittavat suuret kaupungit ja antavat kuluttajille mahdollisuuden lentää suoraan lomakohteesta lomakohteeseen.

Yrityksen mukaan 93 prosenttia sen lopullisesta verkostosta - 25 sen 27 reitistä - ei ole tällä hetkellä minkään muun lentoyhtiön liikennöimä, kun taas 96 prosenttia ei ole minkään muun halpalentoyhtiön lentää. Monet perinteiset lentoyhtiöt ovat kuitenkin väittäneet, ettei heidän mallinsa toimisi Australiassa.

Jordan stressed that Bonza’s model involves looking for new markets rather than attempting to go toe-to-toe with legacy carriers on routes such as the Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane “golden triangle”.

“We are about market growth. And I think ultimately, in the numbers, what we will see as an industry [will be] a net increase in growth, probably at or about the number of customers that Bonza is carrying,” he said.

“We’re not about shuffling existing [passengers] between one carrier and another carrier, we are about market growth. So I don’t think any carriers are seeing any impact to their bottom line by what we’re doing in the market.”

Chief commercial officer Carly Povey said the airline has “earned the right to grow”.

“Our focus now is firmly on improving our operations, earning the respect of customers, and then, we will continue to add new routes and a third base to continue our mission of connecting communities across Australia,” she said.