BONZA has announced two new routes from Tamworth Regional Airport, marking the airline’s 17th destination.
Flights to Tamworth from Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast – Bonza’s 26th and 27th services – have now joined the airline’s route map, just one month after it was initially announced (TD 15 Feb).
Bonza will introduce two round-trip flights per week on both routes, with Chief Executive Officer Tim Jordan telling Travel Daily the airline’s goal is to stimulate a year-round market between Tamworth and its regional hubs, with pricing between $50 and $100pp.
Jordan said existing fare levels into Tamworth mean very few fliers choose to visit the NSW town by air.
“With existing pricing levels, it’s just not possible when the entry point for flying between Melbourne and Tamworth is, if you’re lucky, $500, and if you’re unlucky at $600, $700 or even more,” he said.
“You’re not having families doing that.”
Prohibitively expensive fares on rural and underserved routes are common in Australia, and Jordan said part of Bonza’s business plan is to take prices typically targeted at last-minute fliers and “the top 1%” and lower them to the bottom of the market – typically “teachers, tradies, children, and carers”.
Jordan added that based on the demand from Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, he was “absolutely confident in terms of both of the markets.
“In fact, we’d like to see, perhaps in the future, more markets or more frequencies.
“We certainly have confidence in the market and confidence in the region,” Jordan added.
The post Bonza banks on Tamworth appeared first on Travel Daily.
Source: traveldaily