Australia’s new budget airline Bonza’s plans to launch commercial operations in 2022 seem to be stalled again. The start-up carrier revealed its plans in October 2021 with hopes of starting scheduled flights by mid-2022, however, it is found that the airline is still awaiting regulatory approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to obtain its Air Operator's Certificate.
In a statement, a CASA spokesperson said the authority was continuing to work closely with the Bonza team on the airline's application, but was waiting to receive key documents before it could complete the process.
"CASA will be able to make a final decision once all documentation has been received and assessed and a proving flight completed," the spokesperson added.
Clarifying his stand, Tim Jordan, CEO, Bonza said: “As of now we are unsure of when the flights would begin but we are confident of the demand. This is the first new high-capacity airline in Australia in 15 years, and obviously, the process associated with signing that off is quite thorough. Once we believe we are ready, we will reach out to the regulator and ask for them to come and make sure that is absolutely the case.”
Bonza will offer a 27-route network across 17 mostly regional locations in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. The airline’s third Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft touched down at its base on the Sunshine Coast earlier this week. The airline plans to acquire up to eight aircraft in the first year of operation.