Just a month after announcing its plans for the Coast, the nation’s only independent carrier has added another route to its offerings.
Low-cost airline Bonza on Wednesday added Tamworth, Australia’s country music capital, to its list of destinations flying out of the Sunshine Coast.
That takes the number of routes from here to 13 locations across Australia, most of which are not serviced by any other airline.
The others already revealed in February are Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, the Whitsundays Coast, Rockhampton; Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Albury; Melbourne, Avalon and Mildura.
With these new destinations, Sunshine Coast Airport will move up the ladder from 10th to the 2nd most domestically connected airport in Queensland.
Bonza flights are expected to be on sale after Easter and their Boeing 737 MAX planes will start taking off around July, subject to regulatory approval.
Bonza says flights to Tamworth will occur twice weekly and travellers can expect to pay an average of $50 to $100 for a one to two hour flight.
“When we announced our initial routes and Sunshine Coast base last month, it was just the beginning,” said Bonza CEO Tim Jordan.
“Here we are just weeks later adding another large regional destination to our offering that will give people on the Coast more choice when it comes to travel.”
Destination Tamworth says the region has much more to offer visitors than the country music festival.
There’s also outdoor adventure and wide open spaces, a thriving arts culture, plenty of restaurants and the city is the gateway to New England.
Likewise, residents of Tamworth and the New England region will now have the opportunity to visit the Sunshine Coast.
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Sunshine Coast Airport CEO Andrew Brodie said the new route was another vote of confidence in our region which would also be Bonza’s headquarters.
“This announcement is evidence of our airport providing more services to more destinations at more consistent times, and connecting Sunshine Coast residents to more of Australia,” said Mr Brodie.
“This will further spearhead our region’s recovery, with 17 destinations soon to be connected to the Sunshine Coast when Bonza takes flight.
“This is an increase from the three destinations we serviced pre-COVID in 2019, taking us from 10th to the 2nd most domestically connected airport in Queensland,” added Mr Brodie.
Bonza is encouraging customers to download the Fly Bonza app to be the first in the know when flights go on sale, for fare sales, destination news and travel tips.
Once all functions are added to the app in the coming weeks and months, it will be where you plan, book and manage your bookings.
It will also be where travellers can check in and access their boarding passes — eliminating the need for paper boarding passes at the airport.
