You’ll be lucky to get off the ground if you’ve chosen to fly on budget airline Bonza’s new route between Launceston and the Gold Coast this holiday season.
The airline is struggling with regulatory approval delays after they failed to obtain approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to lease two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and a crew from Canadian budget carrier Flair Airlines.
CASA requires Bonza to demonstrate how they will integrate the Canadian-registered aircraft and crew into their operation to ensure aviation safety, which could take months to complete.
At least one of the Flair aircraft is currently sitting in Australia, with plenty of passengers waiting to hop on board, however, it doesn’t appear approval will be granted before Christmas.
To add to the woes, Bonza were recently forced to temporarily operate a Nauru Airlines aircraft because one of their own was out of commission due to a lightning strike.
While passengers have been promised refunds, many are now disappointed and have had to make alternative travel arrangements with other airlines.
Bonza CEO Tim Jordan has openly acknowledged the delays and cancellations and extended his apologies to customers for the inconvenience.
“As Bonza’s gateway to Tasmania, we know there’s strong demand for locals on the Gold Coast, Northern NSW and South Brisbane to fly direct to Launceston,” Jordan said at the launch of the route.
“In fact, the route is proving one of our most popular from the Gold Coast so far.”
