Bonza Airline Discussion

[Saab34]

Didn’t they walk away with the government paying out their share?

I’d imagine they would be better to cut their losses and walk with whatever they managed to secure. They had been on the board for years, would have been across the financial postion, yet did nothing until the final moment. Hard to have sympathy for them.

PAG could easily have lost more if the government didn’t get involved.

 

[Saab34]

Tim Jordan was on a podcast this week with AA. First time since the collapse he has really spoken. You can find it on the Apple Podcasts app, under Australian Aviation.

He was cautious with his language around 777 and others, I think much of that will always remain behind closed doors.

Interesting that he was negotiating with a local new investor well before the collapse, sadly the collapse cut that off. Something that hasn’t changed is his optimism towards the model he built, and regional travel in general. My issue with Bonza which remains, is that I understand his commitment towards the model, however one simply can’t look past the financial hurdles that he needs to pass to make the model sustainable. It’s one thing driving demand, he referred to many numbers, but it’s another burning $2m per week.

I agree with his position around Rex getting favourable government support while Bonza and Virgin got nothing.

The point around timing was also interesting. Bonza would have been an ideal candidate to pickup what Rex 737s left behind, that essentially would have positioned them more into what TigerAir had been, network wise, but sadly the 777 house of cards fell over. The podcast really did remind us around the duopoly and how tight the grip they have on us.