Bye bye bye to my Bonza flight: when travel plans go up in the air

In university, I would regularly mess up my bus schedule and appear for classes either too late or too early.

There have even been times, despite planning a trip for months, when I would book my flights just two days beforehand.

That's why I was patting myself on the back when I booked my flight from Port Macquarie to Melbourne weeks in advance.

I was very pleased on Monday, April 29 when I scheduled my Bonza flight to Melbourne.

What could possibly go wrong?

A lot apparently.

Come Tuesday, April 30 myself and other Bonza passengers were greeted with the news that all flights had been grounded.

The little budget airline that could entered into voluntary administration with passenger's flight plans up in the air.

I was lucky since my flight was only a few weeks away, but passengers travelling that day were left stranded.

My colleague Ruby Pascoe has been following the story and what it means for Port Macquarie passengers.

It's since come out that two weeks earlier, the airline had received default notices that it would be forced to ground its planes.

Probably would have been good to know before I booked my flights!

I'd heard good things about Bonza, attended the landing of the Melbourne maiden flight into Port Macquarie, and always thought it was great to have an alternative to the other airlines.

I wanted to root for the underdog. I still do.

But now I'm a few hundred bucks poorer, I'm scrambling to try to get my money back and I'm going to have to splash extra cash just to make it to my grandma's 80^th birthday in Melbourne.

On the upside, at least it wasn't my late booking that brought down my travel plans!

Emily Walker

Journalist