Travellers will have a much easier time reaching the Sunshine Coast from Tamworth from now on.
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Bonza, a new domestic airline, launched Tamworth's first-ever commercial flight from the country music capital to the beach-boasting paradise on Saturday, May 6.
"With all the growth in both regions, services like this just make sense," Sunshine Coast resident Andrew Langenfeld said on the flight's maiden voyage.
The service connecting the two musical towns will operate twice per week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Mr Langenfeld said visitors to the Sunshine Coast should visit tourist destinations such as Rainbow Beach, the Eumundi Markets, and the Big Pineapple.
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The route's maiden voyage was more ceremonial than commercial, as more than half (56) of the flight's 105 passengers were guests of the airline, including mayor Russell Webb, Gomeroi elder and cultural tour manager Len Waters, and multi-Golden Guitar winning singer-songwriter Ashleigh Dallas.
Ms Dallas gave passengers a special concert mid-flight as part of a promotion for the Gympie Music Muster, which will take place 80km Northwest of the Sunshine Coast airport from August 24 to 27.
"It's such a great opportunity to encourage growth and tourism to both regions and to get the word out for people willing to be mustered," Ms Dallas said.
The Tamworth local led passengers in a sing-along of Take Me Home, Country Road, ironically thousands of metres above the nearest road.
"This is my highest gig ever. Let's make it the loudest arrival in the history of the Sunshine Coast!" she said.
Outside of singing, there were many other reasons passengers took the flight, from going home, to visiting family.
One passenger from Tamworth said she used to drive for nearly 18 hours to get to the Sunshine Coast and back.
"It takes so much of the stress away, and with petrol prices it's not much more expensive," she said.
Flights on the Tamworth to Sunshine Coast route start at $49 for a one-way trip, though adding baggage fees and seat selection can cost up to $130.40 for a round trip.
Bonza's Chief Commercial Officer Carly Pover said the route's first flight, which had 105 passengers on the 186-seat jet (and 108 passengers upon return), was a promising start.
"We expect it to pick up more soon. Forward bookings for winter, including the July school holidays, are also looking healthy particularly as travellers seek out winter sun in Queensland," Ms Povey said.
She also said the airline would consider running more flights out of Tamworth should the airline's Sunshine Coast and Melbourne routes prove successful.
But it was a turbulent ride for the airline to get this far, with delays plaguing the Tamworth launch date.
"We thank Tamworth residents for having so much patience," Ms Povey said.
One thing for would-be passengers to keep in mind is Bonza does things differently from most other airlines; tickets, boarding passes, and even in-flight snacks and entertainment are handled entirely through the Fly Bonza app.
As such there is no trolley service, passengers instead order and pay for what they'd like on their phones using the plane's WiFi, which is then brought directly to their seats.
"Both our cabin crew legends and customers are loving the absence of a traditional trolley in the aisle. Nowhere ever have I heard a customer ask to bring back the trolley," Ms Povey said.
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