Bonza’s fleet will stay grounded until at least Wednesday next week as negotiations between the lessor and the airline’s administrator are underway.

Lessor AIP Capital is reported to have started the process of repossessing the aircraft on the same day as the carrier’s management called in administrators from Hall Chadwick.

READ: Australian LCC Bonza files for administration

“Whilst the administrators are continually in discussions with the lessor of the company’s fleet and relevant parties regarding resumption of operations, those discussions are occurring daily and will continue to take place over the forthcoming days and into next week,” Hall Chadwick said in a statement.

“As such the administrators are unable to resume flight operations from Friday 3 May 2024 up to and including Tuesday 7 May 2024. Customers with bookings during this period are advised not to travel to the airport”.

READ: Qantas appeals to employees following Bonza collapse

Administrators also confirmed that most of the staff at the airline had been stood down ‘pending the outcome of ongoing discussions’. However, within hours of the LCC announcing that it had suspended operations, rival Qantas through its JetStar subsidiary had set up a page dedicated to hiring Bonza’s employees.

Bonza was formed in 2021 by former Virgin Blue executive Tim Jordan and was backed by private equity group 777 Partners. Following a model of low-cost carriers in the U.S and Europe, it offered point-to-point flights to underserved regional airports rather than the main transport hubs. The airline operated four B737 MAX-8 aircraft in an all-economy configuration.