A new Australian budget airline, Bonza, launched its first flight on Tuesday (Jan 31), promising cheap tickets, onboard craft beer, snags (sausages) and a relaxed approach to crew uniforms.
Branding itself as a down-to-earth Australian airline and the nation’s only independent low-cost carrier, Bonza named its first three Boeing 737-8 MAX planes Shazza, Bazza and Sheila
Tickets, which can only be booked on the airline’s mobile app, are priced from A$49 to A$79 (US$35 to US$56) – too cheap to be profitable according to one analyst.
The inaugural flight took off from Bonza’s base in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to the Whitsunday Islands in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.
Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan marked the Sunshine Coast launch by addressing the media in sneakers, purple socks, dark shorts and a floral short-sleeve shirt.
“We’re about the many and not the few. We are about visiting friends and relatives and that’s our focus,” Jordan told Channel Nine news.
