Bonza administrators in global talks on grounded budget carrier that helped ‘push down air fares’

The administrators determining Bonza’s future have held round-the-clock talks, including with international aviation figures and the owner of the airline’s aircraft, as Australia’s airports maintain the budget carrier was “instrumental in improving competition and pushing down air fares”. Administrators had meetings scheduled late on Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning with “key industry participants” in Australia and overseas, their second day working to such a schedule. They also had an “open dialogue with the lessor of the company’s fleet” of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes that remain parked at airports across the country. The five repossessed planes have been grounded until at least Friday, but it is unclear if they will ever take flight again commercially in Australia. Industry sources expect them to be flown back to the US for other lease deals. The administrators also met with Bonza’s CFO, Lidia Valenzuela, “to go through the financial position of the Company with a view to updating creditors of that position in due course”. With the airline’s future in limbo, some industry insiders said that Bonza’s low-cost business model was sustainable but it had been hindered by its financing and lease arrangements. Were Bonza services to run as scheduled over the next week, the airline would have conducted 183 flights carrying as many 33,106 passengers, data compiled by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) showed, suggesting a growing customer base and business model that was helping dent Australia’s tight airline duopoly.<br/>