An aviation expert says Australia's newest airline Bonza could triple traffic in the nation's skies, despite launching into a pandemic-battered industry that has seen some carriers lose billions and others grounded permanently.
Based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, low-cost Bonza this week announced it would fly 25 routes to 15 regional locations and Melbourne from the middle of this year.
Respected aviation analyst Geoffrey Thomas says the company's proven business model will change the way Australians travel.
"They're employing a model that has been proven to work in the United States by an airline called Allegiant, also in Europe by an airline called Ryanair and Jet 2," Mr Thomas said.
"That model basically revolves around connecting cities and towns and tourist destinations, that are currently not connected.
Bonza will fly to Albury, Avalon, Bundaberg, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and the Whitsunday Coast.
Of the 25 routes it will fly, 80 per cent are not serviced by an airline and 96 per cent have no low-cost option.
"Based on that particular model, airlines like Allegiant in the United States have absolutely blossomed, and on 80 per cent of the routes it flies it has no competition at all but still charges super low fares," Mr Thomas said.
Revealing the airline's plans on Tuesday, Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan said fares would be in line with Jetstar's and about half the price of full-service airlines on most routes.
One-hour flights like Sunshine Coast to Rockhampton or Coffs Harbour would cost about $50 one way, while Melbourne to Sunshine Coast would average between $75 and $100 one way.
Bonza will have a secondary base at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.
The company will offer between two and five flights a week on each of its 25 routes.
'No comparison' with competitors
Australia's aviation industry is dominated by Virgin Australia, Qantas, budget airline Jetstar and regional airline Rex.
COVID-19 has taken its toll on the global aviation industry, costing billions of dollars.
Qantas reported a total revenue loss of $16 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, Virgin Australia survived the pandemic after being sold following its collapse in April 2020 and Tigerair Australia was forced to close during the pandemic.
Mr Thomas said Bonza would not run into the turbulence experienced by those companies due to its different approach.
"There's no comparison really between the business models," he said.
Griffith University Head of Aviation Prof Gui Lohmann said that while time would tell how successful Bonza would be, it was a good time to launch a new regional-focused airline.
"There is a lot of spare aircraft, there's a lot of human resources in terms of pilots, flight attendants," said Prof Lohmann.
"It's always a good time to invest when the industries are in the trouble.
"The busiest route in the country was Brisbane to Cairns."
Bonza's direct routes between regional locations mean many residents outside capital cities will save time avoiding metro airports for connecting flights.
"For people in the regions, it can take almost a whole day for you to fly from a regional place to another regional location," said Prof Lohmann.
"There is no doubt that regional Australia has always struggled in terms of the business model of Qantas, Virgin, Tiger, so what they're trying to do is to tap into these regional areas."
Backer 'no fly-by-night investor'
Bonza's financial backer 777 Partners, is an American investment firm with shares in Canadian airline Flair, the British Basketball League and insurance, finance, entertainment and media companies.
Mr Thomas said 777 Partners' financial backing should give Australians confidence the airline was here for the long haul.
"That's been one of the reasons that previous low-cost airlines in Australia like Compass and Impulse and others have failed, because they didn't have the backing there," he said.
"In fact, their (the failed airlines') financial model is in some cases really suspect and so when things got tough they just fell away, unfortunately.
"777 Partners purchased approximately 70 Boeing 737s to support Bonza and their airline in Canada.
"777 Partners are a long-term investor, they're not one of these fly-by-night investors"
