Bonza eyes the Northern Territory market

Bonza eyes the Northern Territory market

Bonza is looking to open destinations in the Northern Territory – namely, Alice Springs and Yulara – pending airport use agreements with some airports.

Bonza’s interest comes as Qantas cut 30,000 seats from both the NT destinations as the deputy mayor of Alice Springs Eli Melky called for an alliance of Central Australian towns to demand affordable airfares.

Despite the budget airline’s interest, NT tourism minister Nicole Manison revealed that she hasn’t had time to meet with them yet. She said the airline had been in talks with “dedicated public servants” about replacement airlines.

“I have not had a direct meeting with Bonza or Rex because I’ve got my public servants in there having those conversations,” she told Mix 104.9.

Bonza’s interest in the region follows AGT Downunder, which provides charter busses, announcing that it would cease services from Alice Springs due to “external challenges,” according to NT Independent.

Qantas reduced its routes to Alice Springs and Yulara after it overestimated demand for the region. But Bonza CCO Carley Povey said the airline would be looking to pick up where the flying kangaroo left off.

Carly Povey Bonza CCO

“We’d love to see our purple aircraft in the Northern Territory skies,” she said.

“To enable that (servicing the route), we need commercial terms in place with Territory airports that allow us to support the wider community and tourism industry, by giving them the ability to travel at low-cost prices.”

Bonza kicked off its first ever flight a bit over a month ago with a flight from the Sunshine Coast to the Whitsundays. Since then the budget airline has visited an array of rural and urban destinations around the country.

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