CHRONICLE COLUMN – BONZA ALL RIGHT
We’re willing to do what we can to support you through these early days and get you up and running just the way we all want you to be.
If you own a business, employ staff, and run some cars and machinery, you will understand how hard it must be to run a whole airline! And on a budget! Yes … they are affordable, not cheap!
That’s what, in a consumer-led world, consumers want – affordability. Just putting it out there that, despite the reported hiccups, the potential value to the people of Toowoomba, the region, and the business community of this service, is enormous.
I mean, there’s the whole fleet of planes, government regulations, safety, engineering, fuel and routes, landing fees, weather, staffing, booking and customer service, pricing, tax, insurance, ESG, and marketing … OMG it’s HUGE! There will be, like any business, hiccups. Yes?
Bonza Airlines
But how bloody lucky are we that a group of people at Bonza Airlines are willing to go to so much trouble to give Toowoomba the convenience of this service – and an affordable one too!
Regional airports are critical contributors to the local economy and connect our community. Even the Australian Treasury says so! They say, regional airports are significant tourism generators, create local jobs, transport local goods and are critical in emergencies. So, more flights and more carriers like Bonza, equals more tourism, more jobs, increased ability to transport goods and services and greater capacity to respond to unexpected events.
So, who exactly is Bonza Airlines? A bit of Googling has revealed the airline is owned mostly by 777 Partners in the USA. It was founded in 2021 and has four planes in Australia – all Boeing 737-8Max aircraft which seat 186 passengers. They are named Shazza, Bazza, Sheila and Malc. There are plans to grow the business and the fleet which will only be a good thing.
The airline is clearly aimed at a young, tech-savvy audience, and it is full of fun. Bookings and communications are through the App which works OK – we just need a bit of patience (which Ally and I admit, we don’t have ourselves at times). But we believe it will get better! Yes, it’s not a call centre, it’s an App and it seems nothing is too much trouble for the staff who work there.
Modern consumers are typically price-driven AND they expect top quality in return. They want customer care, on-time arrival, safety, cabin crew friendliness, variety of snacks, easy bookings, a demonstrated environment conscious and big baggage allowance as well as a faster route to destination. Not much to ask?
So, let’s band together and think about how we can support them. Perhaps Toowoomba Chamber could organise some special tours for members? What do you think about that?
Perhaps your business could get a travel club together or plan staff team-building trips to Melbourne or Townsville. We could all drive social media around this and find some cool experiences to share. Snorkelling off Townsville in Winter is appealing. Right?
Let’s think of how we can get behind this incredible opportunity and make it even better and sustainable, if for no other reason, than the betterment of our region.
Ally Martell and Todd Rohl
Toowoomba Chamber
