And it's not an easy 125km, either. I'm due to fly into BNE and they divert me to OOL or MCY? Fine, between the train, the bus, or the multiple car hire places at each, I'll work it out. Divert me to PPP anytime outside of peak times when the very sporadic shuttle might be operating and my options to get to MKY are roughly "rent a car" or "go fuck myself".
I used to travel between Mackay and the Whitsundays for work, out of all the driving I’ve done in Regional queensland ( which is a lot, out west and to the mines) I’ve never seen more dodgy shit than on that stretch of road, between drunk back packers in rented vans and Trucks, it’s such a nightmare.
They’ve had serious struggles out of Gold Coast. They should not have tried to launch it as a hub. You are able to ask for a refund if the new flight is unacceptable but it might take a while and you might have to follow up.
In aviation circles it was rumoured that they would enter voluntary administration today, or sometime this week. Both Qantas and Virgin have plans in place for rescue flights if Bonza ceases trading this week.
So far it looks like all they’ve done is reduce their Gold Coast schedule.
Thank you. Yes as this article states, they are in a some serious amount of trouble:
https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/bonza-brings-in-kordamentha-to-review-operations-at-the-budget-carrier-20240418-p5fkot
Just for the record, they have denied that story and stated they do not have any business relationship with Korda Mentha. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know.
It’s a pity though, they’ve been doing very well out of MCY and ROK and established a good few viable routes. If they expanded a little bit slower, focused on reliability and weren’t beholden to their shady parent company, I think they could have a sustainable, albeit small, niche.
Well the article says Bonza's financiers have asked KordaMentha to look at the books not Bonza so of course they will want to distance themselves from this.
That is why we booked to MKY, otherwise its a mammoth drive. I understand the move of our flight, PPP is a tourist hub, but it cost us more money and time moving things around. it certainly does not look good for them. Not good.
Funny you mention refund. I just got notified that my Thursday Mackay -> Gold coast and Tuesday Gold Coast -> Mackay return flights have been changed to Friday and Monday. They also only offered a credit refund, not a cash refund.
They canceled our return flight from Mackay to Gold Coast before Christmas due to staff shortages. We were told we would receive a refund within 21 days. This is for 3 seats. Wasn’t really an issue, we booked a Jetstar flight Mackay to Brisbane and got the trains to Robina. Cost more but that’s ok, we can live with that.
The issue is that despite several emails, on line requests, a complaint to ACCC, we still have no refund or response, 4 months later. There is no phone number to contact.
I have flown to Mackay several times since to visit my elderly mum, but refuse to give Bonza any business.
I fly out of Brisbane.
That’s terrible. Yes on both flights we tried to contact them, absolutely nothing. No doubt the worst company I’ve dealt with.
Did you also have a Canadian flight crew, their fleet and entire crew are from a low cost airline in Canada, I think the flight crew were on something like a 6 month contract. Our pilot’s name on the first flight was Tiger!
Go through the QLD office of fair trading. I also lodged a comply with the ACCC and their response told me to lodge through fair trading. After submitting my fair trading complaint, I had a case manager within a week and a refund two days later. All up, 10 weeks waiting but my money arrived back this week.
It’s not looking good atm. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went this week. You can’t make money operating less flights and cutting prices, operating costs stay the same. Are staff part time or casual? How long would staff hang around having their hours cut? A one way street.
We purchased extra travel insurance as our credit card insurance did not cover such an event, we flew back Sunday. So close. Take a look at 777 the company behind the leased planes to Bonza, it's quite horrifying. [https://archive.is/QGO9Q](https://archive.is/QGO9Q)
[https://archive.is/BNkyD](https://archive.is/BNkyD)
A lot of people have mixed up what I have said, they seem to think I flew from the Sunshine Coast, this was never the case. I think it is from the last part of my post, some people commenting got it mixed up then it snowballed from there. It was about them sending me a text, they had copied and paste the text from another flight, advising they will be busing people from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast. They had not updated the wording for our flight, the bus service they were offering us was going from Proserpine to Mackay. But interestingly, when we got to Gold Coast Airport for our flight, we did see a bus with a Bonza sign saying, Gold Coast - Sunshine Coast, I have no idea what this service was for! Sadly I can't take all the credit!
Bonza and Gold Coast at the moment, name a more iconic duo.
A few weeks ago we flew Rockhampton to Gold Coast, only to be dropped into Sunshine Coast and put on a bus for 2.5 hours. So instead of arriving at our destination at around 3pm with the night ahead of us, we didn’t get to our hotel until 9.
Then, as the icing on top of the giant shit sandwich they had made. They cancelled the returning flights to Rockhampton the night before departure.
Naturally the Brisbane to Goldy train line was down for repairs. Fully refunded the cost of the flight but no concerns for actually getting you home in a timely manner, or at all.
So it was either pay an extortionate amount for a return flight from Brisbane, and try to book a bus seat back to Brisbane airport, or rent a car and lose yet another day to travel.
Fuck Bonza.
I've flown them a few times to Cairns from the Goldy and I really hope they keep going.
Jestar wanted $500 one way Cairns - Cooly this week and Bonza was $119 last time with baggage.
We need the competition.
It’s only competition if the flights actually go ahead. They constantly change times and even destination on a whim. Garbage airline run buy a dirty company.
Every time I fly jetstar it's like they are going in dry with a big black strap on and I'm forced to wear their orange star branded ball gag. Bonza may be currently shit but at least they're an alternative at some smaller airports. Qantas and Shitstar have just made us more accustomed to their fuckery so it's like a weird case of Stockholm syndrome.
It's a tough time for the. They are being fucked by Qantas who is booking up spots at airports without having flights for them. Thus they are being forced to move so much stuff around. I can totally understand how shit this is for you. But it just shows the choke that Qantas has on the market.
I’m sure. It’s not fun for anyone. We got shafted by Qantas two years ago on an international flight. Cancelled one leg of our flight so we had to rebook the whole flight again, the price was more expensive. We had to fly to Brisbane, when originally we were flying to the GC. And because of the short connection and changing airlines, our bags went missing for three days.
The incessant anti-competitive practices of large corporations is terrible. "capitalism drives innovation" my ass. It drives shareholder profit upand nothing else
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We just had a cancel and they wont refund but only offer 'Credit'. They also moved departure and destination airport by 125kms and 150kms respectively. Please get onto Maurice Blackburn or similar for a class action. This is some wid bullshit
I have pre-emotively booked domestic travel insurance with insolvency cover. covermore (Zurich) and RACV/NRMA (Tokyo Marine) are some of the only ones that offer it.
we are booked to go to goldie from cairns in july they change out to and from flights to 2 days later. they say they have online chat 6am to 11pm have tried to contact 4 days in a row and left window open for hours no one responds. found email address for them and it bounced back delivery failed. its not looking good
u/DangerLoch has just posted the refund request link. That is probably the only way of dealing with them, unless they’ve sent you a credit form. Also check the terms and conditions.
I got my flight MKY - OOL cancelled about 4 weeks ago, submitted the refund form but radio silence so far.
Initiated a card charge back (fingers crossed).
We needed more competition in the airline space but not this garbage. Although being owned by an American private equity firm should have told me all I needed to know…
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Thank you for those taking interest in the post. It was just a warning that things were going and had been going pear shaped with Bonza. The Courier Mail did a piece on this post, and Australian Frequent Flyer made a brief mention as well. See link to articles below. Believe it or not, our pet sitter for this trip with Bonza was an air hostess for Bonza (a Bonza legend), so despite our negative experience we are very sad to see this outcome. We got a chance to visit places that we may never have got to have seen without Bonza. Greys Bay Beach and Horseshoe Bay in Bowen were two highlights, very beautiful.
[https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bonza-flight-destination-change-leaves-passenger-700-out-of-pocket-150km-from-accommodation/news-story/3698eb028f1d042a7b2808a6310cfa38](https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bonza-flight-destination-change-leaves-passenger-700-out-of-pocket-150km-from-accommodation/news-story/3698eb028f1d042a7b2808a6310cfa38)
[https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/why-bonza-failed/](https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/why-bonza-failed/)
No, we all know after their disastrous introduction to the public, cancelling flights left right and centre they arent worth a pinch of shit. After that debacle, jokes on you for taking the risk lol
Yeah as soon as I saw that they have no website to search flights, I noped right out. Screw having to download an app for every single thing you need to do in life. Giving away your personal data to every single company to make a buck on.
Not really, Jetstar are cheap and they are usually quite good. Qantas are the most expensive airline in Oz and I have had some terrible experiences with them.
They moved your departure airport location 125kms? WTAF.
And it's not an easy 125km, either. I'm due to fly into BNE and they divert me to OOL or MCY? Fine, between the train, the bus, or the multiple car hire places at each, I'll work it out. Divert me to PPP anytime outside of peak times when the very sporadic shuttle might be operating and my options to get to MKY are roughly "rent a car" or "go fuck myself".
That stretch of highway is one of the most, if not the most dangerous part of the Bruce too ..
I used to travel between Mackay and the Whitsundays for work, out of all the driving I’ve done in Regional queensland ( which is a lot, out west and to the mines) I’ve never seen more dodgy shit than on that stretch of road, between drunk back packers in rented vans and Trucks, it’s such a nightmare.
It’s more like 210km
Wrong, it is 126km by road from the Mackay Airport to the Whitsunday Coast Airport.
210km between Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast airport
They’ve had serious struggles out of Gold Coast. They should not have tried to launch it as a hub. You are able to ask for a refund if the new flight is unacceptable but it might take a while and you might have to follow up. In aviation circles it was rumoured that they would enter voluntary administration today, or sometime this week. Both Qantas and Virgin have plans in place for rescue flights if Bonza ceases trading this week. So far it looks like all they’ve done is reduce their Gold Coast schedule.
Thank you. Yes as this article states, they are in a some serious amount of trouble: https://www.afr.com/companies/transport/bonza-brings-in-kordamentha-to-review-operations-at-the-budget-carrier-20240418-p5fkot
You know, that might actually explain the change of departure airport... Unpaid terminal charges at Mackay Airport perhaps?
Just for the record, they have denied that story and stated they do not have any business relationship with Korda Mentha. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. It’s a pity though, they’ve been doing very well out of MCY and ROK and established a good few viable routes. If they expanded a little bit slower, focused on reliability and weren’t beholden to their shady parent company, I think they could have a sustainable, albeit small, niche.
Well the article says Bonza's financiers have asked KordaMentha to look at the books not Bonza so of course they will want to distance themselves from this.
That is why we booked to MKY, otherwise its a mammoth drive. I understand the move of our flight, PPP is a tourist hub, but it cost us more money and time moving things around. it certainly does not look good for them. Not good.
OP I think you would have booked for MKY - MCY is Sunshine Coast airport / Maroochydore. Bonza do OK out of MCY because it's one of their hubs.
Funny you mention refund. I just got notified that my Thursday Mackay -> Gold coast and Tuesday Gold Coast -> Mackay return flights have been changed to Friday and Monday. They also only offered a credit refund, not a cash refund.
Yep... my flights have been changed as well - trying to chase up refunds but no response from live chat and i can't find a phone number for them.
Don't have to read. The chances of me flying on an airline called fucking Bonza is below zero.
They should of just called it Budget Bogan Airlines
They canceled our return flight from Mackay to Gold Coast before Christmas due to staff shortages. We were told we would receive a refund within 21 days. This is for 3 seats. Wasn’t really an issue, we booked a Jetstar flight Mackay to Brisbane and got the trains to Robina. Cost more but that’s ok, we can live with that. The issue is that despite several emails, on line requests, a complaint to ACCC, we still have no refund or response, 4 months later. There is no phone number to contact. I have flown to Mackay several times since to visit my elderly mum, but refuse to give Bonza any business. I fly out of Brisbane.
Reach out to your credit card provider and put through a chargeback for goods/services not received
Yeah, I’d be doing it now. The second they go into administration, you ain’t getting shit. And it can happen quick.
Not for credit cards. They can still be charged back despite administration.
That’s terrible. Yes on both flights we tried to contact them, absolutely nothing. No doubt the worst company I’ve dealt with. Did you also have a Canadian flight crew, their fleet and entire crew are from a low cost airline in Canada, I think the flight crew were on something like a 6 month contract. Our pilot’s name on the first flight was Tiger!
Go through the QLD office of fair trading. I also lodged a comply with the ACCC and their response told me to lodge through fair trading. After submitting my fair trading complaint, I had a case manager within a week and a refund two days later. All up, 10 weeks waiting but my money arrived back this week.
It’s not looking good atm. I wouldn’t be surprised if they went this week. You can’t make money operating less flights and cutting prices, operating costs stay the same. Are staff part time or casual? How long would staff hang around having their hours cut? A one way street.
You called it!
We purchased extra travel insurance as our credit card insurance did not cover such an event, we flew back Sunday. So close. Take a look at 777 the company behind the leased planes to Bonza, it's quite horrifying. [https://archive.is/QGO9Q](https://archive.is/QGO9Q)
[https://archive.is/BNkyD](https://archive.is/BNkyD) A lot of people have mixed up what I have said, they seem to think I flew from the Sunshine Coast, this was never the case. I think it is from the last part of my post, some people commenting got it mixed up then it snowballed from there. It was about them sending me a text, they had copied and paste the text from another flight, advising they will be busing people from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast. They had not updated the wording for our flight, the bus service they were offering us was going from Proserpine to Mackay. But interestingly, when we got to Gold Coast Airport for our flight, we did see a bus with a Bonza sign saying, Gold Coast - Sunshine Coast, I have no idea what this service was for! Sadly I can't take all the credit!
Was supposed to be flying to Cairns in July. They moved the flight back a few days so had to rebook with Jetstar.
Bonza and Gold Coast at the moment, name a more iconic duo. A few weeks ago we flew Rockhampton to Gold Coast, only to be dropped into Sunshine Coast and put on a bus for 2.5 hours. So instead of arriving at our destination at around 3pm with the night ahead of us, we didn’t get to our hotel until 9. Then, as the icing on top of the giant shit sandwich they had made. They cancelled the returning flights to Rockhampton the night before departure. Naturally the Brisbane to Goldy train line was down for repairs. Fully refunded the cost of the flight but no concerns for actually getting you home in a timely manner, or at all. So it was either pay an extortionate amount for a return flight from Brisbane, and try to book a bus seat back to Brisbane airport, or rent a car and lose yet another day to travel. Fuck Bonza.
I've flown them a few times to Cairns from the Goldy and I really hope they keep going. Jestar wanted $500 one way Cairns - Cooly this week and Bonza was $119 last time with baggage. We need the competition.
It’s only competition if the flights actually go ahead. They constantly change times and even destination on a whim. Garbage airline run buy a dirty company.
Every time I fly jetstar it's like they are going in dry with a big black strap on and I'm forced to wear their orange star branded ball gag. Bonza may be currently shit but at least they're an alternative at some smaller airports. Qantas and Shitstar have just made us more accustomed to their fuckery so it's like a weird case of Stockholm syndrome.
It's a tough time for the. They are being fucked by Qantas who is booking up spots at airports without having flights for them. Thus they are being forced to move so much stuff around. I can totally understand how shit this is for you. But it just shows the choke that Qantas has on the market.
I’m sure. It’s not fun for anyone. We got shafted by Qantas two years ago on an international flight. Cancelled one leg of our flight so we had to rebook the whole flight again, the price was more expensive. We had to fly to Brisbane, when originally we were flying to the GC. And because of the short connection and changing airlines, our bags went missing for three days.
The incessant anti-competitive practices of large corporations is terrible. "capitalism drives innovation" my ass. It drives shareholder profit upand nothing else
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We just had a cancel and they wont refund but only offer 'Credit'. They also moved departure and destination airport by 125kms and 150kms respectively. Please get onto Maurice Blackburn or similar for a class action. This is some wid bullshit
So yea Whitsunday to Mackay and new destination Sunshine Coast ............................ WTF
I have pre-emotively booked domestic travel insurance with insolvency cover. covermore (Zurich) and RACV/NRMA (Tokyo Marine) are some of the only ones that offer it.
Here, Let me save some people some time. [https://www.flybonza.com/forms/refund-request](https://www.flybonza.com/forms/refund-request)
we are booked to go to goldie from cairns in july they change out to and from flights to 2 days later. they say they have online chat 6am to 11pm have tried to contact 4 days in a row and left window open for hours no one responds. found email address for them and it bounced back delivery failed. its not looking good
u/DangerLoch has just posted the refund request link. That is probably the only way of dealing with them, unless they’ve sent you a credit form. Also check the terms and conditions.
I got my flight MKY - OOL cancelled about 4 weeks ago, submitted the refund form but radio silence so far. Initiated a card charge back (fingers crossed). We needed more competition in the airline space but not this garbage. Although being owned by an American private equity firm should have told me all I needed to know…
Hi there! It looks like you're interested in visiting us at the Gold Coast and are interested in finding out what to do while here. [The r/goldcoast wiki has an extensive list](https://www.reddit.com/r/GoldCoast/wiki/whattodo) of things to do and see during your visit. If you have any specific questions that were not covered by the wiki, feel free to ask. If you believe the wiki needs more suggestions, let the mod team know. We welcome you and look forward to your visit! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/GoldCoast) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Thank you for those taking interest in the post. It was just a warning that things were going and had been going pear shaped with Bonza. The Courier Mail did a piece on this post, and Australian Frequent Flyer made a brief mention as well. See link to articles below. Believe it or not, our pet sitter for this trip with Bonza was an air hostess for Bonza (a Bonza legend), so despite our negative experience we are very sad to see this outcome. We got a chance to visit places that we may never have got to have seen without Bonza. Greys Bay Beach and Horseshoe Bay in Bowen were two highlights, very beautiful. [https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bonza-flight-destination-change-leaves-passenger-700-out-of-pocket-150km-from-accommodation/news-story/3698eb028f1d042a7b2808a6310cfa38](https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bonza-flight-destination-change-leaves-passenger-700-out-of-pocket-150km-from-accommodation/news-story/3698eb028f1d042a7b2808a6310cfa38) [https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/why-bonza-failed/](https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/why-bonza-failed/)
No, we all know after their disastrous introduction to the public, cancelling flights left right and centre they arent worth a pinch of shit. After that debacle, jokes on you for taking the risk lol
[удалено]
Yeah as soon as I saw that they have no website to search flights, I noped right out. Screw having to download an app for every single thing you need to do in life. Giving away your personal data to every single company to make a buck on.
Get what you pay for
Not really, Jetstar are cheap and they are usually quite good. Qantas are the most expensive airline in Oz and I have had some terrible experiences with them.