Flair Airlines and Bonza have formed a wet lease partnership, allowing them to optimize their resources and maximize operations during peak travel seasons. As a part of the deal, Flair will send aircraft and crew to Bonza during the Australian peak season while Bonza will send aircraft and crew to Canada during the North American peak season.
This ACMI deal will work as a symbiotic relationship for both airlines as the B737 operators have extra capacity during low travel periods, and will be able to work together to take full advantage of their fleets and crews.
Flair currently operates a fleet of 20 aircraft of which 18 are 737-8 while two are 737-800NGs.
"In the Northern Hemisphere, during the winter months, domestic demand is lower but sun destinations remain popular, and the reverse is true in the spring, summer and fall. With that in mind, we have entered a strategic and reciprocal partnership with Bonza - Australia’s newest low-cost carrier. We will temporarily lease two aircraft to Bonza in late fall that will allow them to kick-start operations out of a new base for the peak Australian summer holiday season. This is a reciprocal partnership that both airlines intend to leverage for many years to come,” Flair Airlines said in a statement.
Bonza recently announced the opening of its third operating base at the Gold Coast Airport. To support the base's opening, Bonza is wet leasing Flair's aircraft, two of which will be based at the airport.
Currently, Bonza has flights planned to 11 destinations from the Gold Coast, Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL), Melbourne Avalon (AAV), along with Albury, Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Mildura, Rockhampton, Townsville, and the Whitsunday Coast. The airline will operate about 70 weekly flights from the new base.