BONZA LANDS "AB" IATA CODE - NOW THAT'S BONZA!!

Bonza, Australia's new airline start-up, has scored a major win with the IATA code AB which reflects its business model of flying from A to B with no C. So says CEO Tim Jordan who quips that "C is all about a connection which means cost complexity and confusion." "We are delighted with our AB code that has just become available," Mr Jordan told AirlineRatings.com. "It's absolutely bonza. And it's also a nod to Andrew Brodie the CEO of Sunshine Coast Airport who has been so supportive of Bonza." Mr Jordan said that plans were moving ahead well with a target lift-off of September as momentum builds for the recruitment of pilots and cabin crew. "I am delighted with the quality and number of applications we have received from around the globe to fill the positions. "We are talking top quality people with vast experience."

The release of the AB IATA code comes as the first images are obtained by @thegreatplanes of Bonza's second 737 taken in Seattle. The aircraft was originally destined for LOT of Poland and is still carrying LOT's winglet logo which will be painted over shortly. Bonza has eight 737s on order with five to arrive in the first batch followed by three more next year. The airline will have two bases initially at Sunshine Coast Airport and Melbourne Airport and the initial routes are across Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales. Bonza’s destinations are; Albury, Avalon, Bundaberg, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Gladstone, Mackay, Melbourne, Mildura, Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba Wellcamp, Townsville, and the Whitsunday Coast. They will be connected by 25 routes. Incredibly 96 per cent of routes are new to low-cost carriers and 80 per cent of the routes are currently unserved. READ: Tim Clark: I would build another A380 only twice the size. SEE: Geoffrey Thomas discusses airport chaos About AirlineRatings.com Airlineratings.com was developed to provide everyone in the world a one-stop shop for everything related to airlines, formed by a team of aviation editors, who have forensically researched nearly every airline in the world. Our rating system is rated from one to seven stars on safety – with seven being the highest ranking. Within each airline, you will find the country of origin, airline code, booking URL and seat map information. The rating system takes into account a number of different factors related to audits from aviation’s governing bodies, lead associations, as well as the airlines, own safety data. Every airline has a safety rating breakdown so you can see exactly how they rate. Over 230 of the airlines on the site that carry 99 per cent of the world’s passengers have a product rating. Given that low-cost, regional and full-service carriers are so different we have constructed a different rating system for each which can be found within each airline. .