Maiden FlyPelican flight from Canberra to Albury well received

The first FlyPelican Canberra-Albury flight touched down at Albury Airport on Tuesday, August 29.

Seven passengers, including former Albury mayor Kevin Mack, were aboard the inaugural flight from the nation's capital, which arrived in just 35 minutes.

FlyPelican will trial the route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for six months to gauge its popularity.

As an added bonus, those travelling from Albury to Canberra will have the option to connect to Newcastle, where FlyPelican is based, with just half an hour between flights.

Brindabella Airlines offered travel between Albury and Canberra from 2003 to 2012.

Albury mayor Kylie King welcomed the extra flight options, which gives the city direct access to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Canberra, with Bonza to soon commence flights to the Gold Coast.

"We're so proud that another air service has chosen Albury-Wodonga as a destination," she said.

"We know we have a large Defence personnel base here, we have a lot of thriving businesses and industries that all look to Canberra as a destination, and the added bonus of Newcastle, which is fantastic.

"I love the fact that the amount of time it takes to fly from here to Canberra is quicker than driving to Holbrook.

"It's great for us to visit the nation's capital and I think equally we have our own festivals and events and our winter and summer destinations, which are great attractions.

"Having been to Newcastle myself, it's probably not a destination I would have looked to visit because it's quite challenging to get there. You have to go to Sydney and then get a connecting flight, and it's too far to drive.

"When I went there for the Supercars, I discovered what an amazing and vibrant city it is. The fact it's so accessible now in a short time frame is great."

FlyPelican chief executive Henry Murcott was on the first flight and said it was a really good atmosphere.

"We were joined by business and leisure travellers and plane spotters. It was a good inaugural service," he said.

"It was a flight time today of 35 minutes. It's nice and appealing.

"The Jetstream 32 holds 19 passengers and two flight crew. It's the largest 19-seater in its class.

"It's got a toilet on board, a couple of convenience items and a nice cabin, which just makes it quite comfortable.

"I've come from Newcastle today so that's another option for this route as well. It's quite a seamless transition for Canberra to go to and from Newcastle.

"It's 30 minutes on the ground in Canberra and from Newcastle you can connect onwards or you've got access to the Hunter region as well.

"There's huge demand from Newcastle to come down here.

"It's a different destination and it's accessible to landscapes you've got out here. It's something that we don't have, which is very appealing.

"We're really focused on niche regional markets. It's all about keeping regional communities connected."

Border plane spotter Lyle Taylor was the first to step off the FlyPelican aircraft.

Mr Taylor was also aboard the first Sunshine Coast to Albury flight in April, one of five maiden flights for him this year alone, and he already has a ticket booked for Bonza's first trip to the Gold Coast.

"It was amazing," he said.

"It's a great aircraft. It's the first time I've been on one of them."

Mr Taylor took a 5am flight from Melbourne to Canberra in order to be on FlyPelican's first journey back to Albury and was wearing a specially designed T-shirt to mark the occasion.

He hopped on the return flight to Canberra less than a hour later.

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