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FlyPelican has expanded its footprint at its base hub Newcastle Airport, with a new onsite headquarters and maintenance hangar.
The airline has been based at Newcastle Airport since 2015, however has now signed a new lease with the airport for a total footprint of 1,230 metres, including its new office headquarters and hangar, capable of accommodating three aircraft and 50 team members.
The regional airline said the expansion is set to introduce up to 15 new local jobs in Newcastle, as it looks to bring its maintenance facilities and base of operations under the same roof.
It will bring FlyPelican’s base maintenance for its fleet of British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aircraft to the airport, while the airline will look to directly employ local maintenance engineers.
Newcastle Airport CEO Dr Peter Cock said FlyPelican’s base of operations is a welcome addition.
“We’re proud to partner with airlines who align with our vision to be the Airport the region deserves. For the past six years, FlyPelican have been with us on this journey, offering key regional services to our catchment,” he said.
“It makes absolute sense that they would choose to consolidate their operation under one roof and we are honoured that they chose to do that at our site. This will further enhance their ability to connect travellers with key intrastate destinations across NSW and interstate to Canberra and the Sunshine Coast.”
FlyPelican CEO Marty Hawley echoed Dr Cock’s words, saying the decision to move the airline’s base of operations to Newcastle Airport was an easy one.
“Basing our operation at Newcastle Airport has allowed FlyPelican to create local jobs for local people, that will directly support our new maintenance facility. As Newcastle’s leading regional airline, it was the logical next step to base our operation at Newcastle Airport,” he said.
“Despite all the hurdles that the pandemic has thrown up over the last 18 months, we’ve remained committed to offering convenient travel options for the people of our region and see this as a fantastic opportunity to increase the frequency of our current route offerings whilst looking at future route opportunities out of Newcastle.”
Newcastle Airport is already home to the majority of FlyPelican’s fleet, with the airline operating flights direct from Newcastle to Dubbo, Ballina/Byron Bay, Sydney, Canberra and the Sunshine Coast.
The new comes after a recent deal was struck between FlyPelican and Virgin Australia, allowing FlyPelican ‘corporate’ and ‘flexible’ far passenger now free to use Virgin’s lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, as well as early Velocity Frequent Flyer points on FlyPelican flights.
