Australia’s newest budget airline, which will welcome its first plane in July, has unveiled a big change in what passengers will see on board.
New Australian low-cost airline Bonza is accelerating its launch, unveiling its brand new uniform ahead of its official launch later this year.
At a “not-so-uniform” preview launch on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast on Thursday, the airline “threw the rules” and unveiled a completely unique uniform for the captain, ground crew and the cabin crew.
Instead of a unified outfit, matching jackets, and signature lip color, Bonza’s crew will essentially be able to mix and match what they’re wearing in the air.
Whether it’s shorts, a t-shirt or a purple pinstripe dress, nothing is off limits.
“Our case was clear. Create a uniform that Bonza legends will wear with pride,” said Bonza Commercial Director Carly Povey.
“We know that airline uniforms are the land that time has forgotten and we wanted to change that.”
Speaking ahead of the media launch, lead uniform designer Pamela Jabbour of Total Image Group said the brief was simple – “keep it fun, vibrant and reflect the ‘now'”.
“The world has changed, and so have we, so the uniforms had to be put forward,” she said on Thursday.
“There are no rules [with the uniforms]. There are so many options and so many ways to wear it. The main element of the uniform is a T (-shirt), something that has never been done. A white T looks good on everyone and it’s a classic piece of clothing that they can wear in so many different ways, like with a blazer or shorts. And of course pair it with my favorite piece – sneakers.
Ms Povey added that in terms of grooming, the airline would also not dictate a certain lip color or hairstyle. Instead, cabin crew, pilots, operations center and office staff will be able to create different looks depending on where they are going, their mood on the day and their personalities.
“We won’t dictate what lipstick to wear — or if you have to wear lipstick at all,” she said.
“We won’t be asking the crew to cover up their tattoos and just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you have to wear a skirt. If you are non-binary, pregnant, work in the office or on board, we have options for you.
Earlier this year, the airline unveiled its first routes across the countries and fares for as low as $50.
Among the new routes, Bonza has announced the first 16 destinations it plans to fly to, with 25 new routes to come for jetset Australians.
While Sydney didn’t land a spot on Bonza’s launch list, the Sunshine Coast and Melbourne snagged some of the top spots. The fleet will be based at Sunshine Coast Airport in Queensland, with Melbourne serving as a secondary hub.
The Sunshine Coast, a popular tourist hotspot with nearby coastal towns of Noosa and Mooloolaba, will account for 12 of Bonza’s first 25 routes while Melbourne Airport will have eight routes.
In October, the airline’s CEO, Tim Jordan, said he hoped the new airline would bring “more choice for Australians from a leisure perspective”.
Speaking at the event on Thursday, Mr Jordan said the first plane will arrive in July and the uniform launch was a small taste of what the airline will be offering.
Bonza fares would be similar to Jetstar, with one-hour flights costing around $50 while longer flights would cost around $75 to $100.
Mr Jordan, who has worked in the aviation industry for more than 20 years and has been behind some of the world’s most successful low-cost airlines, has previously said the company is not looking to take business from the already successful and well-established airlines in Australia. , including Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar, but was instead preparing to fill a void in the market.
“It’s not about stealing traffic from commercial carriers. They are already doing their job very well. We want to stimulate new trips to new destinations. We will serve and represent absolutely the whole country,” he said in October.
Despite skyrocketing fuel costs, Mr Jordan said Bonza would get low fares by flying less frequently, with the airline boss suggesting their 737s could visit regional hubs two, three or four times a week.
“Instead of costing $200 to board a plane in an area, it will cost between $50 and $100 to board a plane,” he said.
“It’s not going to be stunt fares, we’ve all seen $29 and $19 fares, they’re very easy to do, but what usually happens in those circumstances is you kinda bother people because not everyone gets them and people miss them and that’s not a good way to treat a customer.
“And while I’m sure we’ll have some headline-grabbing fares, these are sustainable, lower and mid-range fares. We will be offering much lower rates across the country than what is happening now.
The launch of the ‘low-cost’ carrier comes at a time when rival REX has withdrawn from many regional routes that once boomed for the airline, such as Ballina, Canberra, Bathurst and Kangaroo Island.
REX Vice-Chairman Hon John Sharp AM claimed the reason for the cull was due to “bullying” by Qantas.
“It is unfortunate that these regional communities are the collateral damage of Qantas’ bullying and heartless behavior,” Mr Sharp said earlier this month.
“This behavior is all the more unconscionable after receiving more than $2 billion in federal bailouts over the past two years.”
“The high-profile predatory actions of Qantas on Rex’s regional routes mean that Rex no longer has the ability to subsidize these marginal routes.”
Qantas, however, said Rex’s statement was “just ridiculous”. They said the claims were an example of the regional quarry trying to “concoct weirder conspiracy theories”.
“Rex’s allegations against Qantas have become so outlandish that we have had to set up a dedicated page on our website to refute them and update it fairly regularly,” they said in a statement to news.com.au.
“Rex always seeks to blame others when he retires from regional routes, but none of his claims live up to scrutiny.”
#airlines #unique #uniform #unveiled