Bonza refund: Expert makes grim admission about Aussies hoping to get their ... trends now
A warning has been issued to customers of budget airline Bonza after it was placed into voluntary administration.
Travellers were left stranded in airports across Australia on Tuesday morning amid urgent talks about the future of the airline.
Finance analyst Evan Lucas said customers may find it hard to receive a refund for cancelled flights, despite the airline's assurance it would give them their money back.
'In terms of getting your money back it is unlikely now it went into voluntary receivership 4:30 yesterday afternoon, unfortunately,' he said on Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
Yesterday, the airline claimed that refunds would be processed within 21 days.
'The refund will be paid to the payment method you used at the time of making the booking,' it said.
Mr Lucas said that Bonza's effort to challenge Australia's three major airlines ended in failure
Mr Lucas said that Bonza's effort to challenge Australia's three major airlines ended in failure, mirroring the fate of previous airlines that had attempted to vie with these industry giants.
'The fourth carrier has always been a problem in this country,' he explained.
'We have Virgin, Qantas and Rex. Every time we get a fourth one, there isn't enough [demand].'
He said Bonza aimed to compete with the big players by flying to destinations such as Rockhampton, Port Macquarie.
'That was good but it's not sustainable.'
He said the company had not been paying the leases for their Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft which have since been repossessed.
'Yesterday came as it did because they weren't paying the leases on the planes,' he said.
