‘I just feel heartbroken’: Sacked staff from collapsed airline Bonza chase their entitlements
- by Admin
- June 11, 2024
Angry former Bonza employees have vented their fury after airline staff were sacked in an online meeting after two months without pay.
Bonza collapsed into voluntary administration on April 30 after its aircraft were suddenly repossessed and flights were suspended.
Employees were summoned to an online meeting at 10am on Tuesday.
Company administrators told the 323 employees their jobs were terminated immediately.
All future flights have been cancelled, leaving thousands of customers out of pocket.
Administrators Hall Chadwick set a deadline of last Friday for potential buyers to submit offers to buy the airline.
No offers were received, but Hall Chadwick says it is still possible a suitor could emerge.
About 200 staff joined the online meeting, which included a weary-looking former CEO Tim Jordan.
Mr Jordan did not say anything — he has told staff privately he has been gagged.
Several employees vented when the meeting started 15 minutes late, with one saying it was “very disrespectful” to keep hundreds of staff waiting.
Staff angry at ‘horrendous communication’
Dozens of employees asked questions about their entitlements and why the process had taken so long.
One asked why Hall Chadwick was still entertaining hopes of receiving an offer when they had previously given interested parties multiple “final” deadlines.
Another complained about “horrendous communication” and lamented their most reliable source of updates came via the media.
Hall Chadwick previously disclosed they were charging up to $1,000 per hour throughout the process.
A spokesman for Hall Chadwick declined to answer questions and pointed the ABC to a statement on its website.
“While this is not the news stakeholders wish to hear, the administrators must make a decision with respect to the standdown of the employees,” the statement said.
“Furthermore, customers need certainty regarding the operation of future flights.
“As a result, the administrators have no option but to terminate all employees and cancel all future flights.”
The ABC understands many Bonza employees had already started new jobs prior to Tuesday in the expectation that the administration process would result in liquidation.
‘I just feel heartbroken’
Flight attendant Kim Jones said she wasn’t surprised to be sacked.
“Now I just feel heartbroken because it’s really starting to hit home,” she said.
Ms Jones was among Bonza’s first cabin crew to receive training and this was her first aviation role.
“We absolutely loved our jobs,” she said.
“I was given an opportunity to do something I had never done before and I will forever be grateful to Bonza.
“Even though this is the end of Bonza from a financial perspective, it’s not in terms of our friendships.”
Ms Jones said it was “terrible” that regional routes had been lost, along with the ability to connect with families “at a more affordable price”.
“I was due to fly on the day our planes were grounded and it was just a terrible shock,” she said.
Staff feel ‘strung along’
Steven Reed from the Flight Attendants Association of Australia slammed the process to date.
“It’s an absolutely appalling state of affairs,” he said.
“All of the staff are very upset that they’ve been left hanging on for so long.”
“They feel like they’ve been strung along.
“We’ve said to them, ‘Look, it’s not the fault of the administrator. You really need to blame the directors of the company that are currently under investigation for the way that you’ve been treated.'”
Mr Reed said he always feared Bonza was finished.
“If you don’t have aircraft, you don’t have an airline,” he said.
“It was always our view that it was dead in the water.
“I think it could have been settled a lot quicker than this.
“I’m pretty disappointed that, at the end of the day, we’ve ended up exactly where we could have ended up in early May.”
Still no pay for employees
Bonza still remains in voluntary administration, meaning employees are not yet entitled to the federal government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) for unpaid wages and redundancy payouts.
Employees can only submit a claim under the FEG when the company is liquidated.
Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine said Tuesday’s news was “devastating” for the employees and regional Australian travellers who relied on Bonza.
Mr Kaine also accused the administrators of making “some strange decisions”.
“These workers can’t access the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme until the company has formally been put into liquidation,” he said.
“The administrators chose not to take that step today.
“[They] should get a move on, clearly.
“These workers are still in limbo.”
The administrators are preparing their final creditors’ report, which will determine the company’s future.
Hall Chadwick partner Kathleen Vouris said the administrators were investigating possible insolvent trading.
Ms Vouris said she appreciated the termination was not the news staff wanted to hear, but ongoing standdowns were not appropriate and employees needed certainty.
Bonza’s last plane, “Sheila”, left Australia on Wednesday, June 5.
Any customers with future flight bookings are advised to contact other airlines for replacement flights, or seek a charge back from their bank or credit card provider.
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