A different way to fly
Responsible tourism and sustainability aren’t the only values at the heart of Australia’s newest airline – Bonza has been thinking deeply about meaningful change from day one, with the vision of creating a more accessible Australia for travellers of all kinds, all year round.
Taking to the sky for the very first time on 31 January this year, Bonza made its debut as the world's very first paperless cabin. With flights starting from between $49 and $89, you can fly direct to some of Australia’s most alluring destinations, all while knowing you’re supporting local businesses and reducing your carbon footprint. Carly Povey, Chief Commercial Officer, spills the tea on how Bonza is carving the way to a more sustainable future, for the benefit of the people and the planet.
“When you have a totally blank canvas, it's incumbent on you as a business to think about how you can weave good sustainability practices into the DNA from day one – that doesn't mean it's easy.
“This is an absolute obligation from our perspective because there are many businesses out there trying to solve sustainability issues retrospectively. What we really try to do at Bonza is keep ourselves honest and ask, ‘If not us, then who? If not now, then when?’”
Looking carefully at some of the biggest causes of wastage and inefficiency in airlines, the team behind Bonza turned to innovation, leveraging technology to do things differently.
“When we first announced Bonza to the world, we talked about how technology underpins our approach – we would be the first airline globally to launch with only an app for direct booking.
“This is to solve waste and inefficiency in the system from a sustainability perspective – the most obvious benefit being that the more you digitise the customer journey, the less you are printing paper, boarding passes, menus, catalogues and magazines. Not only is this beneficial from a paper wastage perspective, but the less weight you have on an aircraft, the less fuel you need, the less fuel you burn.”
Homegrown suppliers
Not only is Bonza’s in-flight menu completely digital, everything on board is sourced in Australia, reducing the footprint of their entire product ecosystem. What’s more? Many of their suppliers were chosen for their stellar sustainability credentials – by stripping back to basics, Bonza teamed up with Aussie companies to reduce waste and their carbon footprint wherever they can.
“It seems less confronting when you're doing it together – we've just tried to be really human about it. We don't have all the answers, but sustainability is really important to us, so what can we collectively do to support it?” says Carly.
“Some examples of the products we have on board include eco pouches created by Sunshine & Sons, who produce gin, vodka and rum. The pouches can be recycled through various programs and they also weigh less. Secondly, our wine providers, Sirromet Wines, bottle in recycled plastic bottles – so not only are they lighter, but they’re fully recyclable as well.”
By this point, the team at Bonza had done their best to model their entire company on sustainable practices. They’d ditched paper and napkins and found ways to reduce their carbon footprint, but they kept coming back to plastic cups.
“We engaged with a company called Turn Cups who have a presence in Australia. Made from 100 per cent recycled polypropylene, Turn Cups go through an in-country closed loop sanitisation process. They can be used up to 120 times, preventing thousands of cups from going into landfill.
“Fun fact,” adds Carly, “that C02e break-even point is three uses. From our very first flight, we had Turn Cups on board. We use them for all of our cold drinks and they're working with us to innovate a hot drink solution as well.”
Need another reason to fly with Bonza? Their choice in aircraft and the number of times they fly per week are also a part of their pioneering approach to responsible tourism.
“Our model is flying direct from one destination to another with low frequency, but high capacity. We use Boeing 737-8 because they’re highly technologically advanced and are the most fuel-efficient aircraft in Australia – they also have 186 seats on every flight. This means less flying and more efficiency in how we’re operating every flight, making the most of that flight from a customer capacity perspective.
“We then wrap all that up and look at the next phase, which is from now until 2050 and beyond. We’re working on crystallising our commitment to responsible tourism and thinking about sustainability throughout the entire customer lifecycle.”
Ready to fly into the future with Bonza?
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