Purple budgie smugglers, guided meditation podcasts, Anton Chekhov and something called a “snag in a bag” might seem an odd fit for a low-cost airline’s inflight menu and entertainment app, but this eclectic mix says much about Bonza, Australia’s newest carrier.
Bonza took to the skies for the first time on Tuesday, and the airline sought to create a buzz at its Sunshine Coast base to mark what is the first major entrant into Australia’s commercial aviation market in 15 years.
For months, as the airline awaited regulatory approval, its executives cultivated a brand that had seen it dubbed the “bogan” airline. The PR team would send out press releases announcing its logo, a purple thumbs up; its slogan, “Here for Allstralia”; and the names of its aircraft, Bazza, Shazza and Sheila. The same press releases cushioned news of more and more delays to its intended launch date.
Which is why, when finally launching almost a year after it had hoped, its chief executive, Tim Jordan, was lapping up the atmosphere. He was keen to show off why he had been so confident in his low-cost model, which he announced months before jet fuel prices began soaring to record highs.
Bonza’s inaugural flight has landed at Whitsunday Coast airport. There were many budgie smugglers onboard @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/PF31WLuv5l
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 31, 2023
Walking on to the 737-8 Max, you’re hit with new plane smell. Onboard, the configuration is 3-3, everything feels clean and modern. And purple.
Seat backs are lean, which makes it feel open and roomy. For a tall person, Bonza’s spacing is refreshing.
Not only that, a USB and conventional power outlet at each seat is a welcome feature that is commonplace overseas but has long been lacking at home.
Amid the media circus on board Bazza, I whip out my measuring tape to confirm – seats are 48cm wide (better than Jetstar), but a fairly standard pitch of about 73cm. My knees have a sliver of breathing space but occasionally hit the seat in front. We’re also allowed 8kg of carry on luggage – slightly more than Jetstar’s 7kg.
When Jordan – who is wearing shorts, purple socks and a Hawaiian shirt over his Bonza-branded polo shirt, walks down the aisle – applause breaks out. Aviation nerds gathered on the runway to see the flight take off for the Whitsunday airport.
Once settled in, I see Bonza flight attendants – or as their name badges say, “team legends” – moving up and down the aisle dressed in their T-shirt uniforms, but a bold notice on the back of every tray table stresses that all food and drink must be ordered through the app. Bonza tickets can only be bought through its app so all passengers will already have it downloaded.
Bonza’s inflight menu is surprisingly cheap for an airline. Anzac biscuits are $2.50, banana bread waffles are $5, while soft drinks are $4 and alcoholic beverages between $9 and $11.
“Snag in a bag” piques my interest, and at $5.50, I feel transported back to my school canteen. What appears to be a hotdog in a plastic sleeve arrives about fifteen minutes later and is a far cry from the “sausage sizzle in the sky” billed .
“Snag in a bag” from Bonza’s in flight menu. $5.50, sauce free. Far from the “sausage sizzle in the sky” promised, but still good value pic.twitter.com/r5SdjHQ3ZX
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 31, 2023
After scrolling the food menu, I move on to the entertainment options. There are promotional Bonza videos, as well as a range of contemporary podcast shows from the LiSTNR brand, which includes a guided meditation that could prove popular with parents on busy school holiday flights.
Next up, I peruse the in-app literature section, an offering of titles from classic authors including F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Chekhov’s The Lady with the Toy Dog. I’m intrigued by the book offering from a “bogan” airline, until I realise all of the titles have lapsed copyright and are in the public domain for free.
Then there is the in-app “Merch” tab, which says something about how confident Bonza is in its branding. Here, passengers can buy Bonza’s signature purple budgie smugglers – at $35 a pair they are only $14 less than the starting cost of a Bonza fare. A women’s range is in the works.
Upon arrival at Whitsunday Coast airport, Bonza have 13-year-old local Noah Robertson performing this ACDC cover with “Bonza” as the lyrics in the arrivals hall @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/yTNKnhekdg
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 31, 2023
Passengers had been given novelty-sized cutouts of the Bonza logo when walking the tarmac, and mid-flight, all of the 186 airline executives, journalists, influencers and paying customers onboard were asked to hold them up for a photo opportunity.
The sea of mostly upward pointing thumbs, mixed with a few accidentally pointing sideways and some pointing down in a manner reminiscent of a Coles “prices are down” ad, aptly sums up what I expect the Bonza customer reviews to be like.
Prices are low at a time of record high domestic air fares, the planes are new, seats feel slightly more luxurious than other budget flights, and there’s a jolly atmosphere on board.
However other parts of the business model may frustrate customers. Those who are not tech savvy may be turned off by the central app, and those looking for flexibility won’t have much given Bonza’s low-frequency, high-load factor which is central to its business model.
Jordan also told reporters on Tuesday that Bonza won’t have any phone number for customers to call – it’s a purely digital support team. Passengers can prepare themselves for any post-flight customer service issues by reading Kafka on the in-flight entertainment app.
The list of 17 initial destinations includes Sunshine Coast and Bonza’s other hub in Melbourne, as well as Cairns, Port Macquarie and Newcastle, but not Sydney.
@GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/EPXeJ4jM00
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 31, 2023
Jordan called out Sydney airport on Tuesday for not making it financially viable to fly there – the airline asks airports to “come to the table” on access costs. The airport blamed inefficiencies in how slots are allocated.
As passengers from the maiden flight walked into the arrivals hall at Whitsunday Coast airport at about 10am, they were given a rock star welcome, offered glasses of purple champagne as a 13-year-old electric guitarist performed an impassioned cover of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, inserting the words “Bonza” as lyrics.
It was a good metaphor of the proudly bogan yet slightly deluxe experience of flying Bonza’s first flight.
