Bonza boss confident cheap regional Australian flights will take off – eventually

Low-cost airline Bonza has been making headlines by promising to deliver cheap flights between regional cities in Australia. But nearly a year on, passengers are yet to board a flight, with the carrier still awaiting regulatory approval. Bonza’s CE Tim Jordan isn’t sure when the airline will receive the OK from Casa, admitting it may not be this year. Nevertheless, the airline’s boss told Guardian Australia things were beginning to progress at a “greater pace”.Questions linger about the feasibility of Bonza’s promise to bring European-style cheap air travel to destinations with far less demand – particularly as the business faces a plethora of issues and inflationary pressures driving prices to all-time highs. Bonza aims to fly between 17 regional destinations including Newcastle, Townsville and Toowoomba. Jordan said it will operate routes that will deliver value to regional populations and create a new class of travel in the Australian market. “Our competitor is not the other airlines, our competitor is the couch or the car – this is about people seeing a price for $59 or $69 and going, ‘You know what? Let’s go,’” Jordan said.<br/>