Bonza confirms changes to Queensland flight schedules but denies reports of engaging financial advisory firm (2024)

Budget airline Bonza has hit back at claims it is seeking financial advice from an advisory firm amid passenger anger over changes to services on some regional routes.

It comes after the Sunshine Coast airline recorded Australia's best on-time arrival rate for March, outperforming Qantas, QantasLink and Virgin in the latest industry rankings.

The airline was in international headlines this week after reports in the Australian Financial Review suggested KordaMentha was being brought in by one of Bonza's financiers to provide advice.

KordaMentha declined to comment, saying they were under a strict non-disclosure agreement as with all their clients.

A spokeswoman for Bonza said the reporting was "incorrect".

"KordaMentha has not been engaged by Bonza," she said.

"They haven't visited Bonza and don't have access to Bonza in any way."

Flights cut over 'lack of demand'

The airline this week confirmed it was reducing some services along its Queensland routes.

Flights between Mount Isa and the Gold Coast, and Gold Coast to Melbourne, will each be reduced to one service a week.

The airline said this was strictly due to a lack of demand.

"No current Bonza routes are being cancelled," the spokeswoman said.

"But as we've always said, it's standard practice within aviation, as with most industries, that a route needs to reflect the market demand."

She said fewer services between Gold Coast and Melbourne would "right size" the supply and demand on the route.

Bonza only began flying to and from the Gold Coast in November.

The spokeswoman confirmed the Gold Coast leg of Bonza flights had experienced "a challenging start".

The airline said any customer affected by the changing services would be moved to an alternative flight, or receive a credit for the value of their ticket.

A full refund would also be available.

The airline confirmed it was adding another flight between the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne, bringing it up to five services a week.

The spokeswoman said more planes would join its four-aircraft fleet "imminently".

'I've given up on them'

The outback town of Mount Isa was eager to embrace the new low-cost airline when Bonza launched there in December.

But flight cancellations, which hit hard during Christmas,along with reports of poor customer service, have turned sentiment against the carrier.

Selina Cunningham had enjoyed a trip to the Gold Coast with her four young sons over the Easter long weekend before being dealt a $3,000 blow when her flights home were cancelled.

She said it was disappointing after budgeting $1,000 for return flights.

"I'd seen the comments online about this service being unreliable. I even took out travel insurance so we didn't get caught in a bind, but none of that matters," Ms Cunningham said.

"Insurance won't look at you without a letter from Bonza.

"I've tried 12 times to get help. There's no reply. I've given up on them [Bonza].

"I paid their fees and they have the audacity to claim they're providing these great reliable services out to remote areas, but they're not."

Bonza aware of customer complaints

A Facebook group was launched in January as "a platform where individuals can come together to share their experiences, seek justice, and raise awareness about the concerning practices of Bonza".

Member and Sunshine Coast resident Paul Heaton said it seemed as though there were "thousands of people, myself included, being shunned and blatantly ripped off by Bonza at the moment".

"[Bonza is] practically impossible to get a hold of regarding cancelled flights, ghost flights, refunds," Mr Heaton said.

"[There are] a dozen [Facebook] posts a day regarding the same issues and wondering how they [Bonza] are not being outed for what's happening."

The Bonza spokeswoman said the airline was aware of customer complaints about service and was acting on them.

"We recognise that during peak times we could do better with our chat wait times," she said.

"This is something we are addressing and hope to have a suitable solution in the near future."

The ABC has approached US-based Bonza financiers for comment, but they have not responded.

Bonza is funded by 777 Partners, a multi-billion-dollar US private equity giant that part-owns a similar Canadian budget airline called Flair.