A NEW air route linking Dubbo and Newcastle will not only allow residents of our city to access the Hunter and mid-north coast region with ease, it will also open up a new stream of tourists to attractions such as Taronga Western Plains Zoo. That is the opinion of Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson, who admits he took great delight in helping to deliver another service out of the local airport. An announcement was made on Monday morning that Newcastle-based airline FlyPelican will operate two flights in and out daily from Monday to Friday from Monday, July 18. Flights on the 19-seat pressurised British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aircraft will leave Newcastle at 6.30am and 5.30pm daily, with return journeys scheduled to leave Dubbo at 8am and 6.55pm. The service will complement those that currently operate to and from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and smaller centres Cobar and Broken Hill. "This announcement is something that has been months, if not years, in the making," Cr Dickerson said. "As a council we have been engaged in talks with a number of providers for several years about what opportunities are available but the specific Dubbo-Newcastle route with FlyPelican has been in the pipeline for a few months now and it's great that it has finally been ticked off. "It means we now have six ports with direct access from Dubbo and our flight numbers will 178 per week." FlyPelican chief executive Paul Graham said his company is also excited at adding a new route to its business. "FlyPelican is very excited to be adding yet more routes to its network," he said. "Newcastle to Dubbo is very well suited to our Jetstream 32 aircraft that seats 19 passengers. The flight time is just under one hour and we will be operating weekday essential services linking these city pairs." The inclusion of a Newcastle route came as a result of information received in surveys conducted by Dubbo City Council at the airport, with the city figuring prominently behind Brisbane and Melbourne prior to the Jetgo services being implemented in 2015. But the mayor has no plans on stopping there, albeit he admits the constant threat of amalgamation with Wellington made things difficult. "There's so many goals we have, and this was one of them, but I just wish the amalgamations weren't hanging over our head," he said. "Last week we had Don Meij, the CEO of Dominos, in town and he said 'base decisions on data, not opinions' and this is a prime example. "The data we had from those surveys showed there was a demand for a Newcastle service and we've made that happen with FlyPelican's help. "Going against that a bit I think Canberra is a sleeper as a potential air route for Dubbo. The data doesn't show that as much as it did for Newcastle but I personally think it could work. "We've also used data from Jetgo's Dubbo-Brisbane service that shows 30-35 per cent of the people using it have Queensland post codes, so while it's great that people from Dubbo and the region have these options, it also shows that it is making things easier for people who want to visit our region to do so. "I think it will be the same with Newcastle. That area is a strong holiday destination for people from Dubbo but it makes us an easier holiday option for people who might have been thinking about coming here but not wanting to do the driving." One-way fares on Newcastle-Dubbo services will start from just $99 inclusive of all taxes and flights can be purchased directly from the website www.flypelican.com.au.
Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson is excited about another airline offering services to the city.
Photo: BELINDA SOOLE
A NEW air route linking Dubbo and Newcastle will not only allow residents of our city to access the Hunter and mid-north coast region with ease, it will also open up a new stream of tourists to attractions such as Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
That is the opinion of Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson, who admits he took great delight in helping to deliver another service out of the local airport.
An announcement was made on Monday morning that Newcastle-based airline FlyPelican will operate two flights in and out daily from Monday to Friday from Monday, July 18.
Flights on the 19-seat pressurised British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aircraft will leave Newcastle at 6.30am and 5.30pm daily, with return journeys scheduled to leave Dubbo at 8am and 6.55pm.
The service will complement those that currently operate to and from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and smaller centres Cobar and Broken Hill.
"This announcement is something that has been months, if not years, in the making," Cr Dickerson said.
"As a council we have been engaged in talks with a number of providers for several years about what opportunities are available but the specific Dubbo-Newcastle route with FlyPelican has been in the pipeline for a few months now and it's great that it has finally been ticked off.
"It means we now have six ports with direct access from Dubbo and our flight numbers will 178 per week."
FlyPelican chief executive Paul Graham said his company is also excited at adding a new route to its business.
"FlyPelican is very excited to be adding yet more routes to its network," he said.
"Newcastle to Dubbo is very well suited to our Jetstream 32 aircraft that seats 19 passengers. The flight time is just under one hour and we will be operating weekday essential services linking these city pairs."
The inclusion of a Newcastle route came as a result of information received in surveys conducted by Dubbo City Council at the airport, with the city figuring prominently behind Brisbane and Melbourne prior to the Jetgo services being implemented in 2015.
But the mayor has no plans on stopping there, albeit he admits the constant threat of amalgamation with Wellington made things difficult.
"There's so many goals we have, and this was one of them, but I just wish the amalgamations weren't hanging over our head," he said.
"Last week we had Don Meij, the CEO of Dominos, in town and he said 'base decisions on data, not opinions' and this is a prime example.
"The data we had from those surveys showed there was a demand for a Newcastle service and we've made that happen with FlyPelican's help.
"Going against that a bit I think Canberra is a sleeper as a potential air route for Dubbo. The data doesn't show that as much as it did for Newcastle but I personally think it could work.
"We've also used data from Jetgo's Dubbo-Brisbane service that shows 30-35 per cent of the people using it have Queensland post codes, so while it's great that people from Dubbo and the region have these options, it also shows that it is making things easier for people who want to visit our region to do so.
"I think it will be the same with Newcastle. That area is a strong holiday destination for people from Dubbo but it makes us an easier holiday option for people who might have been thinking about coming here but not wanting to do the driving."
One-way fares on Newcastle-Dubbo services will start from just $99 inclusive of all taxes and flights can be purchased directly from the website www.flypelican.com.au.
