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Jetstar has launched its first services on a former Bonza route, with its inaugural Cairns-Sunshine Coast flights getting underway this week.
The A320-200 VH-VFQ operated the maiden flight, JQ809 from Cairns, which touched down at Sunshine Coast Airport shortly after 7pm on Tuesday before returning to Cairns as JQ808.
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The route is one of 10 that had been operated by Bonza from its former Sunshine Coast hub until it went into voluntary administration in April, and was announced in June hours after administrator Hall Chadwick announced it would seek to wind the airline up.
“These new flights are expected to be popular with both interstate and overseas tourists and we thank the Queensland Government, and the Sunshine Coast and Cairns Airports for their ongoing support of low fares travel,” said Jetstar’s executive manager, customer, Jenn Armor.
“Today’s launch is the start of an exciting fortnight for Jetstar, with the airline set to launch four new routes as its massive network growth continues.”
Bonza was the only airline flying between Cairns and the Sunshine Coast before its collapse.
The independent carrier launched its direct Sunshine Coast–Cairns flights on 27 March 2023, initially flying five times per week, and in April 2024, CEO Tim Jordan said it had flown 100,000 passengers to and from Cairns in its first year.
BITRE data released in June suggested that Sunshine Coast Airport would suffer a significant hit to passenger numbers in Bonza’s absence.
Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli, who had warned that Bonza’s collapse could cost the region more than $100 million, hailed the Jetstar service as “a big win for Queensland”.
“The state has set the vision for Queensland to be Australia’s destination of choice for domestic and global visitors and to grow the overnight visitor expenditure to more than $44 billion a year by 2032,” she said.
“As Cairns is an important gateway to Australia for international visitors, the direct flight link will also enable more international visitors to connect directly to the Sunshine Coast, which is a significant win for our region.”
Jetstar’s new service will initially operate three times per week, increasing to four during the summer school holidays, and is expected to attract more than 4,000 passengers per month.
The airline was rumoured in October to be considering a second ex-Bonza route, with talks reportedly underway to launch a Toowoomba–Melbourne service.
