Tim Jordan talks about gov’t response to Bonza’s collapse

By Andrew Curran.

The CEO of defunct Australian low-cost carrier Bonza has spoken about the Australian Government’s response to his airline’s collapse and how its response differed when Regional Express (REX) filed for voluntary administration three months later.

In a submission to an Australian Government Senate Committee examining the state of Australia’s regional aviation sector, Tim Jordan said the two airlines had “a very different federal government response.”

The 777 Partners-backed Bonza ceased operations in late April 2024. The airline had operated for just 15 months.

In July 2024, the established regional airline, Regional Express, called in the administrators following a financially disastrous decision to start B737 flights and board-level in-fighting..

The Australian Government stepped in to ensure Rex’s regional operations continued while in administration, in the process becoming its biggest secured creditor.

With the government looking on, Rex's administrators later sold it to a US entity, Air T, and the airline continues to operate.

But Jordan says the same government “determined very rapidly” that they would not step in to assist Bonza.

"I am not aware of the specific reason or rationale for this government position, but this position was consistent with the earlier decision not to assist Virgin Australia when they also entered voluntary administration in 2020,” Jordan said.

“However, just three months after Bonza entered administration, Rex also entered voluntary administration. There was certainly a very different federal government response and outcome to the Rex administration versus that of Bonza,” he added.

“Part of that change in response may have indeed been driven by Bonza’s earlier failure and part of it may have been driven by other factors.”

Virgin Australia filed for voluntary administration in April 2020. The Australian Government also denied it any assistance. However, Virgin kept on operating during its administration and was later sold to Bain Capital. It continues as a going-concern.

Differing government views on importance of airlines

Bonza was a point-to-point leisure airline whose business model depended on using low ticket prices to stimulate demand on unserved or underserved routes. Jordan said this was a tried and true low-cost airline operating model.

In contrast, Regional Express primarily shuttles passengers between regional and remote towns to the coastal capital cities. While the airline has a leisure/tourist customer base, most Rex passengers are travelling for work/medical/education/family emergency purposes.

One of the “other factors” mentioned by Jordan may have been a view in government that while it was nice that people had the option to fly Bonza from Mildura to Maroochydore for a holiday, it was vital that they had the option to fly Rex from Ceduna to Adelaide for a cancer scan.

Jordan’s lengthy submission is free of bitterness but tinged with regret. He doesn’t blame the government for failing to bail the airline out. Instead, he lays the blame firmly at the feet of 777 Partners, who, he said, undercapitalised the business and were behind the late-night aircraft repossessions that shut the carrier down.

“Bonza was wholly reliant on funding from our sole investor, 777 Partners,” Jordan said.

The FBI has since charged the 777 Partners co-founded Joshua Wander with conspiracy and fraud offences over an alleged scheme to cheat investors and financiers out of more than USD500 million. However, the allegations are not directly connected with Bonza.

Jordan calls for more even-handed treatment

Nonetheless, Jordan does say the Australian Government should be more even-handed in its treatment of airlines in distress.

He says that if the government had let Rex go under, like it did with Bonza, other regional airlines would have stepped in and taken over most of Rex’s routes.

This aligns with what Malcom Sharp, chairman of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, recently told the same senate committee. Sharp said the government simply wasn’t interested.

“It is certainly my personal opinion that where there is the ability for a market led solution to a current problem that should certainly be the preferred course of action pursued by and for the industry,” said Jordan.

““If in due course that market solution doesn’t eventuate, then of course other options such as government intervention may be assessed. This was certainly the market precedent in the cases of both Virgin Australia and Bonza but was unfortunately not the case for REX.”

Since it purchased Virgin Australia, Bain Capital has overseen the airline's successful turnaround. In mid-2025 Virgin Australia re-listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Last month, the airline announced a net after tax profit of AUD341.1 million (USD240.1 million) for the six months to December 30, 2025.

Jordan adds that as Bonza’s markets matured and expected new aircraft arrived, his airline was on track to becoming cash positive toward the end of 2024.

“Unfortunately… (we) didn't get an opportunity to come to fruition,” he said.

You can read Tim Jordan's senate submission here.

Photo: Bonza

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com