A packed inaugural flight departed the Gold Coast this morning to Townsville marking the beginning of Bonza’s next phase of growth. The North Queensland city is the first of the new routes to be rolled out from the new Bonza base.
Townsville Enterprise Director Visitor Economy and Marketing Lisa Woolfe, said the new connection would extend Townsville North Queensland’s holiday and business travel offer to another part of Queensland, which is a growing source market for the destination.
“Since COVID Townsville has welcomed an additional aviation capacity into the region, and this new route is yet another example of the growth our region is experiencing,” Mrs Woolfe said.
“There is a strong alignment with the Bonza and destination brand, and we are excited to build on this relationship with new routes from South East Queensland.”
“For Gold Coasters, we offer something unique – where they can escape the hustle and bustle, and experience something new or familiar, but with a twist. The connection is also a great way to build on our international visitation, especially those travellers looking to have a best of both worlds holiday itinerary.”
“To celebrate the launch, we’re excited to welcome over 50 travel media and influencers from the Gold Coast region, for a Chef-hatted lunch, followed by a Magnetic Island cruise and snorkel experience – while we only have them on the ground for a short time, we’re pleased to share some of best North Queensland has to offer.”
Bonza CEO Tim Jordan said the new route was a great addition to domestic tourism to connect more communities in time for Christmas.
"We know that there are so many leisure travellers who will love the chance to take a Bonza flight or holiday to the Gold Coast, but that there are also a lot of people from the Goldie and northern NSW catchments that want the chance to connect with loved ones or explore new places. Our team of legends feel privileged to bring families and friends together in time for end of year celebrations at affordable prices,” Mr Jordan said.
“Today’s launch of the Gold Coast is a major milestone for Bonza as we ramp up operations to end the year with 21 destinations and 38 routes. Next year, we look forward to continuing to make air travel accessible to the many, not the few. We are working towards growing Bonza’s fleet to at least 10 aircraft by the end of 2024 and with that will come our fourth base and extended reach into new states and territories,” revealed Jordan.
Bonza is continuing to recruit Gold Coast-based cabin crew and pilots with Jordan saying applications for cabin crew and supervisors close on 23 November.
Both Townsville and Gold Coast airports are owned and operated by Queensland Airports Limited, with CEO Amelia Evans welcoming the new route.
“This is a particularly exciting day for us at QAL – the commencement of Bonza’s services will provide more seamless connections for both our customers and our teams, with two of the fourteen routes linking our airports in Townsville and Mount Isa directly to the Gold Coast,” said Evans.
“This is the first of 14 routes that will operate out of Gold Coast Airport providing passengers with more options to connect easily with loved ones across the country.
“As an airport operator, creating valuable connections for the communities in which we operate is important to us and it’s great to hear already how Bonza’s new routes are opening up air travel to more people across these regions.”
Travellers are encouraged to download the Fly Bonza app which is the only place to book direct.
