Tamworth to Sydney flights could be next for budget Bonza airline

Bonza chief executive officer Tim Jordan told the Leader that getting planes into the state capital would not necessarily need to wait for the 2026 opening of the Western Sydney airport at Badgery's Creek.

"If there was the right commercial terms and we have the right slots available then absolutely [we could fly to the existing Sydney airport at Mascot]," he said.

The airline hopes to be able to attract an entirely new market of fliers to the skies, allowing them to profitably fly planes while charging less than $100 a ticket.

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Mr Jordan summarised the new market as "teachers, tradies, kids and carers," people looking either for a long weekend away or to see family.

"We're into this for the long term," he said.

"In fact, we would actually see this as a first step for Tamworth. We believe there are other markets out there, potentially - I won't name them."

Tamworth mayor Russell Webb hailed the arrival of the new airline as "fantastic for Tamworth, it's fantastic for the region".

"We know this airport has been very, very slow over the COVID period, and has really fallen into some state of hibernation ..." he said.

"It's a great day to celebrate.

"We're very excited about it from a council point of view and I think the community as a whole are very excited about it as well."

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Cr Webb said the council would do marketing in Melbourne to encourage Victorians to come to Tamworth.

"I firmly believe that there's a lot of people who are going to want to come here and have a look at the country areas," he said.

Tamworth council's aviation, events and projects commercial director John Sommerlad said the last passenger survey at the airport showed that the most popular new route among fliers was Melbourne.

The new route is set to attract thousands of new tourists, according to business planning by Bonza.

The airline will need to fill about 80 or 90 per cent of the seats on their 1488 seats a week, Mr Jordan said.

Bonza will start flying locals and tourists to and from South-East Queensland and Victoria as soon as September or October.

Sydney's new Western Sydney Airport at Badgery Creek is due to open in 2026.

Qantas is the only airline currently offering flights to Sydney from Tamworth.

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