Regional carrier FlyPelican plans to add a third nonstop route out of Sydney with nonstop flights to Taree starting on Monday January 29.
The Sydney-Taree service will be operated with 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft and run two times a day, FlyPelican said in a statement. The flight time is one hour, compared with four hours by car between Sydney and Taree.
“We will be pulling out all the stops to mount an operation at the end of January to provide the community with a seamless option to fly to and from Taree with optimum flight times in the morning and evening to support both the business and the leisure markets”, FlyPelican chief executive Paul Graham said.
“There is also potential and capacity to increase the frequency of flights to bring passenger numbers back to where they were.”
FlyPelican passengers can also earn Velocity Frequent Flyer points on selected fares. Currently, the airline serves Mudgee and Newcastle nonstop from Sydney.
The move ensures Taree residents retain air links to Sydney, given Regional Express (Rex) is exiting the route on Saturday January 27.
Rex said it decided to withdraw from Taree, which it serves both nonstop and via Newcastle from Sydney, after being unable to reach an agreement with the Mid Coast Council on airport infrastructure upgrades.
“As Taree to Sydney is a licensed route, Rex has provided more than the required four weeks’ notice to Transport for NSW of its intention to withdraw from the route,” Rex general manager for network strategy and sales Warrick Lodge said.
Passengers with tickets on Rex for travel to Taree beyond January 27 2018 would be offered a full refund.
