For grandparents Glenda and Tony Richardson, the announcement of Bonza’s Tamworth to the Sunshine Coast Route back in May was a blessing.
No longer was their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, aged 2 and 4, an eight-hour drive away, but a short few hours flight from door to door.
“We went up in May with Bonza, the service was great, and we were there in no time.” Said Glenda.
“Our flight was busy, not quite full by close.”
The pair were looking to go again next month, until they heard the news, Bonza airline was ceasing their Tamworth to Sunshine Coast flight path.
Glenda took to social media to express her disappointment.
Glenda and Tony fear they’ll see their family less with their inability to go north.
“We probably won’t go to the Sunshine Coast now, they will need to drive down here, we can’t drive up there, it’s just too hard,” said Glenda.
With driving off the table, seeking alternate airline travel has proved economically unviable.
“For other airlines, they are too expensive, and we are on a pension, not like Bonza which was a really good price for us,” said Glenda.
“This always happens in Tamworth; we get a good deal, and it disappears.”
“We would love for them to return the service.”
Glenda couldn’t speak more highly of Bonza’s service and passion for wanting them to come back.
“The people were on our plane, the Legends, they were fantastic.” Said Glenda.
“We want them to stay.”
And Glenda and Tony aren’t alone in their plea.
New England locals have taken to social media over the announcement.
Despite community reaction, Bonza has no plans to return the service in the coming future.
“We are grateful for the Tamworth community support since we landed there in May,” said Carly Povey, Chief Commercial Officer at Bonza.
“Our average load factor for the Tamworth-Sunshine Coast route was 38 percent while the Tamworth-Melbourne route saw it 100 percent full twice during July.”
“It’s important to note that for Tamworth, we have really healthy demand on flights from Melbourne to the country music capital – so that is where we’ll focus for now.”
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