The three times a week offering will be operated by Alliance Airlines on behalf of FlyPelican with 80-seat Fokker 70s or 100-seat Fokker 100s, the company said on Monday.
Newcastle Airport chief executive Peter Cock said the new two-hour flight would create opportunities for businesses and support tourism.
“A quick, direct two-hour flight provides a smarter choice, and will reduce return travel time by up to eight hours,” Cock said in a statement.
“Community demand for the Adelaide route has been very strong and we are thrilled to be working with FlyPelican and Adelaide Airport to deliver this direct service to passengers. This is another step for us in creating the airport the region deserves.”
Newcastle Airport said Adelaide was the first “new major city route” to be launched since flights to the Gold Coast started in 2004.
Currently, Newcastle has nonstop flights to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as to a number of domestic regional destinations. In addition to FlyPelican, airlines that serve the airport include Jetstar, Regional Express (Rex), QantasLink and Virgin Australia.
FlyPelican passengers can also earn Velocity Frequent Flyer points on selected fares. Currently, the airline serves Ballina (Byron Bay), Canberra, Dubbo and Sydney from Newcastle, its home base, with 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft.
“As Newcastle’s local airline, it is important to us to provide services the community needs,” FlyPelican chief executive Paul Graham said.
“We are proud and excited to expand our network and give travellers greater choice with the new Adelaide direct route.”
Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young said Newcastle has been one of Adelaide’s largest unserved markets.
“We’ve been keen to secure a service between our two cities for some time,” Young said.
“It is Australia’s second largest regional city with many similarities to Adelaide, including its defence focus and proximity to the Hunter Valley wine region. It also provides a great alternative for passengers wanting to travel to and from the Central Coast, Hunter and North Coast regions without having to land in Sydney and find other transport options to get to Newcastle.”
Also, the new route continues Alliance Airlines’ growth in the contract flying business, given it already operates flights on behalf of QantasLink and Virgin Australia alongside its fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) work ferrying staff to sites across the country for its resources clients.
Flight schedules indicate it will be one of Alliance’s Adelaide-based aircraft to operate the route. There is a morning departure from Adelaide on Tuesdays, with a short turnaround at Newcastle before return service. It is an afternoon/evening flight on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Flight Number/Routing |
Days of operation |
Time of departure |
Time of arrival |
|
FP182 Newcastle-Adelaide |
Tuesday | 09:50 |
11:30 |
|
FP185 Newcastle-Adelaide |
Wednesday | 18:30 | 20:15 |
|
FP185 Newcastle-Adelaide |
Friday | 19:50 |
21:30 |
|
FP811 Adelaide-Newcastle |
Tuesday | 06:30 | 09:10 |
|
FP814 Adelaide-Newcastle |
Wednesday | 15:15 | 17:55 |
|
FP814 Adelaide-Newcastle |
Friday | 16:30 | 19:10 |
