A low-cost airline that doesn’t feel cheap? $49 seats without the ick of garish colours and highly flammable uniforms worn by temperamental flight attendants? Is this real life? Yes, it is, Zoe Macfarlane reports.
Australian aviation newcomers Bonza are the airline unicorn you never thought could be real. Get the skinny on all things Bonza from seat 11C on Bonza’s inaugural flight this Tuesday.
Check-in & boarding
Bonza decided early to go app-only with their business, with every passenger needing the app to nab their $49-$79 lead-in fares, check-in, purchase snacks and drinks onboard, and get up-to-the-minute flight communications.
While I’ve been on an app cull lately, Bonza’s digital-only approach seems a fair trade for their seriously low fares. I did, however, get the secret sauce from CFO Lidia Valenzuela that there are workarounds for the lesser tech-savvy travellers, as reported here.
Check-in via the app is a two-step process – nice and simple you’d think? Except I missed the last step (wasn’t the only one) and ended up doing a counter check-in anyway. At least on the way to the Whitsunday Coast Airport. The return check-in was sweet and simple, though the app feels like it’s a work in progress for ease of use right now.
Boarding was sweet and effortless, starting with a boarding call of bloody legends! As an airline dedicated to the many, not the few, Bonza has made a firm stance on its brand identity. The planes are called Shazza, Bazza, and Sheila, you can buy budgie smugglers on board, and every announcement, from boarding to pilot to the crew, has a distinctly Aussie tone. I was 100% all for it!
The plane
As everyone arrived bleary-eyed at the airport at 6:30 am, the hot question of the morning was not where the nearest café was, but which plane we’d be on (it was Bazza).
Bonza’s fleet is the Boeing 737-Max 8 – Australia’s first – a narrow-body airliner offering 15 per cent better fuel economy. This cost-cutting feature allows the low-cost carrier to not only start with low fares but keep them low.
Chatting to an engineer during the boarding process, I learnt the 737-Max had carbon-something-something titanium edge blades that aided that fuel efficiency. It was a lot of engineering talk for a travel writer, but they looked impressive, so I’ve taken his word for how cutting-edge that is.
Seats
To be the first to get cosy on a brand-new airline is like being the first to get into a store on Black Friday. First impressions were great. Fab even. Not only because it’s new, but because of the deviation from garish colours that overseas low-cost airlines typically coat the cabin in from head to toe. Bonza’s purple branding, found on the headrests, adds a touch of colour to the plane’s dark seating and muted carpet.
Talking of headrests, Bonza’s was the best I’ve ever experienced on any flight. Period. The ability to fully hold your head in place for a snooze (as trialled on the return leg) is almost as good as Bonza’s stellar fares. Almost.
If you’ve ever been on an airline without a headrest (I’m still recovering from a 2019 LCC flight in Asia) this is a major win. Plus, the headrest has a solid range of height differences, so even your diminutive nan or 6’6” mate can get comfy.
Of course, you want to know what the seat itself is like. With a seat pitch of 29-30″ across the 186 seats onboard, it’s in line with Australia’s pricier airlines. The backrests are comfy with ample leg room for my 169cm size. And, despite a heftier middle seat neighbour, I didn’t find myself listing into the aisle to get a sense of space.
Pack your hand luggage (max 8kg) under the seat or in the roomy overhead lockers.
The individual USB port and 2-per-row power points are not necessarily needed on a short-haul flight, but they ensure you leave the plane juiced up and ready to selfie your way around your destination.
BTW, Bonza wasn’t kidding when they said it was for the many, not the few. The few don’t even have the option of business class seats. With only a handful of extra leg room rows, everyone’s equal on a Bonza flight.
In-flight entertainment
Don’t be like me and forget your headphones for some light entertainment. It’s all channelled via Bonza’s app or a QR code with options for light audio entertainment. Like comedy from Aussie comedians and inspiring content from small Australian business leaders.
I’d expect the entertainment offerings to grow as Bonza gets itself settled in. Little ones are well-catered for already, however, with a range of short bedtime explorer stories to get your little ones to doze off. After they’ve nodded off, you’d be better having a book or Netflix show downloaded until Bonza’s entertainment offerings expand.
Food
Feeling peckish? Forgo your usual process-packed Doritos for some keto-friendly Aussie-made Amazeballs Crunchy Natural Cheese Snacks. Say sod off to the $12 soggy sarnie for an under-a-tenner sweet chilli chicken wrap. Or build a Designed Driver combo with Aussie Heaps Normal alcohol-free beer with a snag in a bag.
Whether it’s a Wine Down (cheese and wine combo) or water (not overpriced, thankfully), everything aboard Bonza is Australian owned and made. It’s a win for small businesses everywhere. One Sunny Coast brewer on board commenting Bonza has allowed them to triple their business.
All cups provided on board are reusable, in line with the airline’s sustainability commitment.
The verdict
Would I fly Bonza again? So, so happily! It’s a big thumbs up from me.
From the bogan aircraft name to the stylish casual uniforms to the allergy-friendly fava beans, Bonza feels like a considered brand that is ready to challenge the big airlines, big time. Not on where they fly, because Bonza is focused on underserviced regional Australian routes, but on how they deliver, especially with prices that an everyday Australian can afford.
