Mackay Airport Welcomes First Bonza Plane

Budget airline Bonza began test flights to Mackay this week, with its distinctive purple planes spotted landing at Mackay Airport.

Australia’s newest and only independently owned budget airline was announced last October and welcomed its first Boeing 737 MAX, which has since been christened as ‘Shazza’, to its Sunshine Coast base in August.

The aircraft, coming from America, was then refitted here in Australia, with more planes following.

Mackay residents will be offered two flights a week to Cairns and Melbourne and three flights a week to the Sunshine Coast, while a drive to Whitsunday Coast Airport will give access to Newcastle and Toowoomba twice a week and the Sunshine Coast three times a week.

Flights are expected to cost around $50 for each hour of the flight, including 8kg of baggage, with the aim to deliver competitive rates seldom seen in regional air travel and enable Australians to explore more of their own backyard at low-cost prices.

Bonza’s previously hoped-for launch dates of mid-June and late-September have been and gone while the airline awaits regulatory approval through the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

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