Low-cost airline Bonza goes on sale with first flights from Albury to Sunshine Coast

The Albury to Sunshine Coast route was one of 15 made live, with one-way flights from as low as $69.

Bookings can now be made through the Fly Bonza app ahead of the first flight on April 7, with the twice weekly return journey to depart on Mondays and Fridays.

"Affordable air travel has arrived and we can't wait for the Albury-Wodonga community to paint the skies purple," chief commercial officer Carly Povey said.

"We promised choice and better connectivity to the regions for less and we've been beyond delighted with the support for our mission.

"Bonza is here to take Aussies from A to B without the C (cost and complexity)."

Albury Airport team leader Nick Politis said Bonza's introduction would be "game changing" for the aviation industry and take Albury's connections to five with routes already established between Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.

"It is the perfect time. As higher fares seem to be crippling most of aviation right now, we've got this young carrier coming in connecting regions directly at low costs," he said.

"For $69 a flight, a family of four can go up and back for a maximum of $650. If you were to drive to the Sunshine Coast for $650, you'd be pushing it.

"In terms of time and cost, it's cheaper to fly directly from Albury to the Sunshine Coast and the same from the Sunshine Coast to Albury."

Mr Politis said it would open up a brand new visitor market.

"What used to be out of touch is now well within the grasp of a lot of people on the Sunshine Coast," he said.

"Our numbers are about to reach pre-COVID levels, so we can probably expect with Bonza now operating, which connects us to five destinations, we will see those numbers tip over.

"We could probably expect the first four to six flights to take a little longer in terms of just getting everyone into the swing of everything, but then we can really expect them to tighten the bolts where it'll be a very fast transaction, seamlessly through the airport."

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Albury mayor Kylie King said Bonza making its first flights available before Easter was great timing.

"We know a lot of people who live in Albury-Wodonga often have the Sunshine Coast as a holiday destination, so for locals, it's fantastic, but so is the reverse of having them come to visit us and experience what our region has to offer," she said.

"It's a win-win situation. On the back of the Qantas connection from Adelaide, and the Brisbane link as well, to have this additional service shows we're becoming a must-visit destination, which is a wonderful thing for a growing regional city."

Mr Politis is confident Bonza's approach to focus on regional connections would hold it in good stead.

"The airlines we've previously had have tried to muscle their way in on the big carriers, flying capital cities, whereas Bonza have deliberately avoided a majority of the capital cities," he said.

"This is something new, and especially for the price, it hasn't been done before.

"You're now flying a Boeing 737 jet, so you're getting to your destination faster, at a cheaper rate, and you're connecting directly.

"We are a big regional city, so we should have the opportunity and ability to connect directly to other regions and for other regions to directly connect to us.

"If Albury-Wodonga and our surrounds can demonstrate just how willing we are to embrace such a connection, I'm sure that will be appealing to Bonza to probably look at other destinations or increase the frequency."

Travellers who have already downloaded Bonza's app should delete it and reinstall the latest version to have the ability to book flights.

Ms Povey said the flights on sale now are an indication of what's here to stay from Bonza.

"It's important that Aussie travellers know we're on sale, not having a sale," she said.

"We're committed to low cost fares, which will in turn, stimulate new markets for Australia's domestic tourism industry. We're confident whenever customers choose to travel, all our fares and not just our starting fares will represent great value."

Routes from Bonza's second base at Melbourne Airport are expected to go on sale in a matter of weeks.

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