Is Sydney’s Shortest Flight Actually Worth It? 25 minutes Sydney to Newcastle with FlyPelican
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- Last time I took the slowest way between Newcastle and Sydney, this time I head the fastest! It took a whopping 25 minutes to get between the states 2 largest cities. But is it as quick in reality? Lucky for you I have answered this question, as I fly with FlyPelican on their Jetstream 32 aircraft.
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Filmed: 21 June 2024
Departure: Sydney Domestic Airport
Arrival: Newcastle Williamtown Airport
Cost: AUD$149/£78.50 total
Duration: 25mins
Class: There is only 1 - Economy
Tickets: flypelican.com.au
The French guy was the check in guy, the guy at the gate and the bus driver. I totally expected him to be the pilot too
LOL- I expected to see him as the pilot too 😅
LOL nah he wasn't the bus driver. You can see the bus driver in the mirror for a split second when he's alighting the bus
his accent is italian not french you muppet
On the way back lol
this is scare, my cat sad
I feel like this would make for a top-gear style challenge. One person drives, another takes the train and another flies.
Just to make it an ultimate challenge, add the bus and do a weird 4 way of one person flies, another does the train, another drive and another does the bus haha.... (the bus involves a ferry component as well)
And another person steals a Sydney ferry and sails it to Newcastle
@@simonbolandthat would be The Stig.
You could also walk via the Great North Walk!
The pilot doing the preflight announcements by just talking instead of over the PA was interesting, especially asking if there were any questions at the end! Nice video
FlyPelican used to have several flights out of Dubbo. Caught it with my small boys from there to Ballina in 2021, sitting in row one. My 1 year old sitting on my lap threw a pencil into the back of the cockpit… pilot noticed and gave me a smile… but I was MORTIFIED!
I went on the Newcastle to Dubbo inaugural flight, had no idea about Dubbo and walked to the zoo...far out thats a long way lol
Hey Josh, Novacastrian here mate. Its a super wee service between NTL and SYD. I use it whenever flying internationally as it saves the 2.5 hrs commute from Newcastle to Sydney Airport and vice versa (especially when flying into Oz of a morning from O/S) and you want to short cut the traffic. The service makes plenty of sense for people of Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Port Stephens. Long may it continue.
P.S I remember the days of flying Rose Bay to Newcastle Harbour in the 90's on the seaplane. That was the ultimate shortcut.
"...Rose Bay to Newcastle Harbour in the 90's on the seaplane.". Whoa!
I used to love catching the old Aero Pelican Twin Otters from Pelican Airport back in the 90's. My work had a book of pre-paid paper tickets, you'd take one (no booking required), turn up and get on the first flight with a seat available. It was like catching a bus! You'd take off over the lake or ocean with stunning views and fly low and slow down the coast and usually over Sydney Harbour into SYD. It truly was one of the world's best flight experiences. And with no waiting time it was by far and away the quickest way to travel between Newcastle and Sydney.
Great video, Josh! The 25-minute flight from Sydney to Newcastle sounds quick, but considering airport procedures, it takes about 1.5-2 hours in total. Trains take around 2.5-3 hours and are much cheaper at AUD $10-$20. Each option has its pros and cons. Thanks for the detailed review! 🚂✈
The train is overall much better for the environment as well, if that's something you want to consider.
only reason you'd take the flight is if u had a connecting flight from newcastle lmao
And there is no real public transport from NTL to the centre of Newcastle, so it is further time and expense to get to the city. Booking the XPT the day before is much cheaper, easier, and more comfortable, especially if you have luggage.
@@KJP-dv2uj yeah also that.
well, i havent used public transport since the opal cards came in... and it used to be $60 or more for a single trip from hornsby to newcastle?
and the only time i did it... ten hours. trackwork and a "junky passed out on the line near woy woy".
the beauty of the aeropelican flight is when you are coming home.. so much better than getting off a plane and grinding through traffic to get back to Newcastle after you've been away on business or holidays..
I've taken the Pelican flight between NTL and SYD many times because I used to work in NTL. Nice video to reminisce the good old days.
Something about flying on a smaller plane actually makes me feel a lot more at ease. The pilot and crew just seem a bit more relaxed. Crazy there isn't a door closing the cockpit, I thought that would have to be standard on any commercial plane, cool to see!! Again makes me feel more at ease, if the pilot in the cockpit is chillin'.. I'm chillin' haha. Great vid man.
Which is funny because small planes crash way more than big ones. Humans are funny.
I took the XPT from SYD to Broadmeadow 2 years ago and I got so restless during the trip that I wondered if there were flights back to Sydney the next day. I was lucky to find out that FlyPelican was running a "$72 within 72hrs" special and I took the flight from NTL back to SYD. Smallest plane I'd been on before was an A320. FlyPelican staff were super nice, especially the pilot had a great chat with us before takeoff. Awesome experience and I recommend it to everyone to try at least once.
This flight is mostly used as a connection to get Newcastle residents to or from Sydney for further domestic or international travel.
I used it back in the day when I lived in Newie and was travelling to seeing friend and rellies in New Zealand.
Easier than taking a train, going to the airport, etc etc.
More relaxing too.
Exactly. This flight makes sense if you already need to be in Sydney Airport. Will be interesting to see if they start flights from Western Sydney International
My father used to frequent the FlyPelican (Areopelican) flights to Sydney a lot back in the 80's. His firm was sending him to China to consult in the development of chemical refineries there. So those flights were really meant for business purposes.
It's a shame Fly Pelican pulled out of Bathurst in 2022. They cited insufficient pax numbers, which being understandable, I can't really see Sydney-Newie having many pax number either. I hope you fly Link from Orange to Melbourne or Brisbane one day. Whilst expensive, it does seem like an interesting way to go.
The pax numbers from NTL-SYD are questionable for sure, when I flew FlyPelican that route a couple years ago, it was me and 1 other passenger on board
The 2nd daily train from Bathurst to Sydney would not have helped with keeping the Pelican flight service.
I mean, sure Bathurst to Newcastle is longer than Sydney to Newcastle, but Sydney has 100x Bathurst's population.
@@TeamDive2795 I'm kind of surprised that the Bathurst to Sydney route is able to sustain 1 daily flight considering Bathurst has a much lower population than Newcastle. Orange and Mudgee I could understand because these are even further from Sydney and have even poorer public transport links.
Newcastle here. The flight only makes sense when you are connecting in Sydney to other flights. My partner at the time used it to go to work from Newcastle when it went from Newcastle Belmont. It was a fibro house acting as a terminal. You could drop off passengers within a few metres of the plane five minutes before taking off. If you had to park, it was 10m away and free. The regulars barely broke their stride walking from their car to the plane with “checkin” happening as you walked onto the airfield.
I've taken this once from Newcastle to Sydney because of an early morning meeting in Sydney and because it's only a10 minute taxi ride from where I live to Newcastle Airport. Expensive but its nice to have the kinds of views you get from a (relatively) low flying aircraft.
My first commercial flight was with Aeropelican, as it was called then, from the old airport at Belmont in 1990. When I got to Sydney I asked how to get to the international terminal. This was before the train. I thought there would be a shuttle bus. There wasn’t. The only way around was by taxi. But it was fun adventure anyway.
I didn't even know there was a Sydney to Newcastle flight!! 😂I actually drove up to Newcastle yesterday, in hindsight I should've taken the plane!
Just to add onto extra info of the the original AeroPelican airport. The airport closed in the early 2000's and it was originally run by Ansett Australia. Then it laid dormant for nearly a decade before being converted into a skydiving airport.
Skydiving and a rescue helicopter base and flight school and home to a Red bull air race pilot. I work out of there.
I worked on the airport line. For those that don't know, nothing from Green Square to Wolli Creek pre-existed so all the tunnels, tracks and five stations were all built from scratch by a gov/business partnership. It is still privately operated, although the original builders could not make a go of it and sold it off. The airport line will revert back to public ownership in 2030.
Yup, a mate was telling me about this... The airport stations are owned by Macquarie Bank.
I used to fly the SYD - Newcastle route after travelling from the other steelworks town - Whyalla in South Australia. That wa in the 1980s and 90s. Since I was flying into Sydney, continuing by air was the obvious choice. Those were the days of the real Aeropelican flying DeHaviland twin otters. Also turboprop but smaller than the jetstream that you flew and the destination was Pelican airport south of Newcastle. A truly wonderful journey at relatively low altitude (ie good views) along the coast. While I agree that your flight was good, my experience of flying your route into Williamstown (Newcastle) airport is that it is not as good as my Pelican memories
I have driven from Sydney a few times and that also has nice scenery and can be done in 2 - 2 1/2 hours. The train from Central can be as little as 2hr 9 min but is more commonly nearer to 3 hours. That too is a very scenic route which I am happy to recommend. The train is also the cheapest costing only AUD 4 - 8.
Funnily enough I've been meaning to research this, work remotely in Newcastle for a company based in Mascot, so have considered this option, seems like the train is still the go for my office visits.
13:30 from central would get you to Newcastle cbd by 4pm. Ironically quicker by the time you get from ntl to town
Thanks Josh , great TR, this took me back in time to when I flew Pelican in the Jetstream back into SYD from NTL, your trip utilising the train has got me thinking yeah it would be good to do that one day
This was so much better when they operated out of Aeropellican airport in the Twin Otter’s!
Used to work at Newcastle Airport. The Fly Pelican pilots were always the most down to earth and friendly blokes. You usually have one very experienced pilot and a young pilot getting his hours up before applying for jetstar/qantas. The most common users of the newcastle to sydney flight were businessmen who day hire a car. Also going through security at Newcastle is quick and simple, you don't need to be flying. Lot of people go through security just to sit and watch the F35 jets.
Your at the train station, get a train, especially an express train, check that option out. In your 1 hour wait, you'd probably nearly be there.
He does mention multiple times that the train would be faster for the trip he was doing
Flew with Pelican a few years ago direct from ADL to NTL on a Friday afternoon. Plane was a ~30yo Fokker (can't remember the model). Was the best flight I've had to date.
I did this trip in about 1999 when it was a tiny 6 sixter with no toilet. There was rain in Newcastle and we had a delayed landing. As I had not realised it was such a small plane and had drunk a few free beers in the QANTAS lounge before leaving SYD, and I was *desperate* by the time I got the airport building.
I did the reverse trip a few years back for a $100 hamburger, it was a great day! love Flypelican
I once flew from Newcastle to Sydney on a Fokker Friendship. This was 1971. The flight attendant came around with a ‘hot scone’ tea/coffee! I’d only half finished when the cups/plates were collected before landing. Now I fly from NZ to Brisbane and only receive a small quantity of water. Things were certainly better back in the day!
A coastal ferry service would be interesting
Absolutely! I was always thinking about this... Sailing from the Newcastle Port to Sydney Harbour with a stop in Manly would be wicked 😉
It would. Dolphins live in that area and whales come in some seasons. The only downside is that the waters are almost always rough (if not very rough).
Your editing and music is great!
Thanks! Sometimes I feel like I know what I’m doing, but often not 🤣
This flight actually used to be a connecting flight to Taree. This ceased a couple of years ago, so now it's just a flight to Newcastle
Interesting..
Great video, subbed 😊
What a friendly check-in agent! Taking a flight with FlyPelican is high on my bucket list, this video has reinforced that
He really was, and yes you should definitely take a flight with them, it’s a lot of fun!
First trip was to surfers paradise then America 8n the same week one week apart
It's an awesome and unique experience, especially if you depart from a small airport like Newcastle
What a legend flying this route on the mighty J32.
6:20 that is so cool!
Now Dungog, to Newcastle Interchange, bus to NTL, then flight to Sydney, then domestic train station to Goulburn.
Thanks for your insightful and at times, funny and ironical video. I liked your take on the seventeen dollar surcharge on the train when it turned out to be a normal suburban one. Melbourne.
Great review mate. Newcastle airport is also a RAAF base .
last year back in september when i was in sydney i took the train from central to gosford and that is on the way to newcastle so i took the train from central to gosford and back and it was hour each way there and back
Looks like a nice flight to load up into flight sim.
I liked this - you made me giggle about the loo and not being able to wait for 20 minutes. Now do one from sydney to Armidale. My mates mum is about to kick the bucket and I want to be up there for him as emotional support. :)
In the late 1970 I was on a flight from Sydney to Canberra which took only 18 minutes from take off till landed, faster than this flight.
They use jet aircraft on that route, not turboprops.
As a Melburnian only thing I'm jealous of Sydney is your airport train. Whether it's special or not at least you have it. Ours is in the works but can't see it up & running for at least 5 years or more
Brisbane has one too, and for the first few years, Sydney's one was impractical for most travellers because of a hefty surcharge.
Mate, I visited Melbourne in 1996 and they were talking about it then. Need to contact your MP!
Very nice report, enjoyed it much. I would have quickly made the change to sit on the left side of the aircraft to watch the views of the city, would've been spectacular.
Wow i wanna take this flight purely for the cockpit view!!!
I've taken a similar 20 minute fight but mine was International. Seattle Washington USA to Vancouver British Columbia Canada. 220km. We had to be there 90 minute's before the flight to do Immigration.
Hi Josh, excellent video, and been waiting for someone to cover such a unique and interesting little air route that one!
Additionally, the ground handling for Fly Pelican from check in, to the ramp, is actually contracted to Rex, so it was a friendly Rex staff member that checked you in and boarded you all.
Now to head out to Dubbo and try another interesting RPT route with Air Link 😜
@@Rheilffordd thank you for the kind words. I flew link airways Metroliner a while ago on a flight from Narrabri 🙂
I'm very surprised that the cockpit doors were open. Nice flight excellent video
It’s common in these small planes. They don’t have doors to close, Link airways are the same.
Like this mans content!
Hey mate great video, you should do Qantas link next Sydney to port Macquarie or on a Rex Regional flight to Canberra be amazing
Would be great apart from the fact of how far away NTL is from the actual CBD.
Me and the Mrs loved the vids mate, they provided a odd comfort
That’s great, glad you enjoy!
I caught that special train every day to and from Revesby for more than 12 years luckily I didn't pay the airport surcharge but I used to see families or groups going to the city in the morning who would have at that time been better off getting a taxi door to door or even transferring between international and domestic instead of the free bus, a sad rip off for visitors back then😢
Well done promoting the “little guys”, great video, thank you for sharing this
I used to drive those trains.
The 13:45 all stations would've got you to Newcastle Interchange at 16:45. Or the 13:15 express (a more comfortable V set) would've got you there at 16:02.
That said - looks like a repositioning flight to me. And if you were starting from the airport, not Central station, and used a taxi at the other end, you could get that time down pretty significantly.
An interesting exercise. I wouldn't want to rely on it though. Might be useful if the trains sh!t themselves again though. Heck of a lot cheaper than a taxi - I should know, I've been put in a few taxis when the rail network has had a bad day.....
How's it compare to the bus though?
🤣 maybe better than the first 6 but not as good as the last 2 🤣
Sydney-Newcastle, much like Sydney-Canberra, only makes sense if connecting through Sydney; or perhaps if you work at one of the airports and can remove one of the airport-city transfers.
For that matter, Sydney to Bathurst is also on that list.
Excellent
Hey mate what do you Film on! Great vid good shots
As you said only point is to connect to international/domestic flights
Enjoyed the video. I guess it works for some people but for a lot of people who actually live in Sydney who have access to a car this flight makes no sense at all. The drive from my place to Lake Macquarie is 1 hour 22 minutes. My place to the centre of Newcastle is 1:50-ish. If I were to get this flight, for me to drive to Sydney airport is about 40 minutes, costs about $19 in tolls, add in short stay parking and it's dire. I just did some public-transport trip-planning from my place to Sydney airport - One bus, 3 trains, trip time 90 - 120 minutes hehehe- hopeless. Thanks for the video!
Surely you’d only use this flight to connect. Why else would you bother?!
Now try getting back to Newcastle interchange from the airport.
Well irs begter then going down the m1 takes like 3 boues to get there on train (to the airport)
Get off at Mascot station, catch the bus, for an extra 15 minutes it saves you $14, definitely worth it to avoid price gouging... Next video should be racing 2 people from Sydney to Newcastle CBD on plane vs train, or something similar like Sydney to Canberra, a few times I actually have beaten the plane
I stopped watching at the $17 price gouge and scrolled through the comments looking for this...
I did a previous video with link airways to Sydney, at the end I explained the bus to save money. As this was kind of a challenge to compare to the time the plane takes, I didn’t think it was fair to ad an extra half an hour. I always take the bus from mascot though, usually. Or an Uber, though I have the luxury of living close enough to do that.
@@JoshGoesSlow ahh gotcha, yeah no worries on the airport train/bus since it was a different comparison, I'm an inner westie so the bus or Uber option is handy, I'll check out some of your other videos as it's cathartic considering most of us can only really afford to travel domestically right now, and there's so much to see in our own backyard, I actually found this video while researching NSW train and coach services so there you go
Only other reason to do this would be to make a connection in or out of sydney
Williamtown Airport is great for Port Stephens. Anywhere south of Newcastle it’s at least an hour drive, punitive parking rates and the most over the top security anywhere. I think they are concerned you will run the 2 km to the military planes and attack them with your penknife. When Aeropelican flew from Belmont it was worthwhile for residents from Newcastle south to Gosford, avoiding the long drive. Security was a waist high cyclone wire gate to keep children and animals off the strip. A bygone age.
In what world does the train take 30 minutes to get from Central to Domestic unless you go around the city circle. It is a 10 minute trip. It also isn't advertised as a special airport train either.
I said 13minutes, not 30. The advertisements are all over the walls where it says “airport train”.
Bronwyn Bishop would approve, as long as it was expensive. 🚁🛩️🍸🥪
Funny thing is that this route has a chance of going right over her house.
Pelican flight sounds funny
25 minutes to the airport, in the middle of nowhere
Looks light a far more delightful way to travel compared to your buses down to Sydney
It’s probably only worth it if you are connecting from another flight or you are needing to fly into Sydney to connect to another flight
AERO DUCK RULES !
IFE really great
Driving door to door is 1.5hrs. Travel on each end of the flight, waiting, delays and the like make a round trip 2+ hrs easily and you are just at newcastle airport which is nowhere near newcastle. Its williamstown. Even canberra ,3 hrs from sydney is faster by car. Its door to door.
Remember, load the minimum amount onto an opal, get off at the airport, and throw the card away! The card now has a negative $15 balance 😂
@@tulippasta I did have my opal in the negative once, it wouldn’t let me out the exit. I topped up online with my phone but apparently the reload doesn’t work on the airport gates. After 15 minutes and my card still not working, I had to go recharge at the pay booth (inside the exit they have a ticket booth, now for obvious reasons) where they told me online top up doesn’t come through on their gates. I had to recharge twice, it’s such a scam.
I used to do this regularly but they removed the ability to do this several years ago
Refuse to pay the surcharge, I either tailgate behind someone or walk from Mascot or take the 350 bus.
@@Backwardseel I commute from the west so I get a bus from Burwood
So this doesn't work anymore?
We flew Aeropelican many times when it operated out of Pelican near Belmont. It was a great commute for people living in Lake Macquarie someone could drop you at the airport or you get a taxi fairly cheaply, it was only a 20 minute flight to the Sydney domestic terminal then a quick shuttle across to the International. Flying anywhere from Williamtown makes little sense for Lake Macquarie residents it takes an hour just to drive up there. I can drive to Sydney in 90 minutes. Maybe if you live in Newcastle city or Port Stephens its Ok but from the southern side of the city its pretty useless. For the 7th biggest city in Australia our airport facilities are a joke its situated nowhere near the major population centres and the transport links to the airport are rubbish. Once on a flight from Sydney Gus Gould and Ricky Stewart (NRL) were sitting in seats across the aisle from us they had been laughing and joking about the size of the plane all the way until we landed in Belmont. Everything went into full lock trying to pull the plane up before the runway ran out and we ended up in the lake. It was just the normal landing at Pelican but I reckon that pair left grooves in the arm rests because they had been gripping them that hard. We miss the Aeropelican flights from Pelican it used to be one of our favourites.
Mate of mine is a pilot for this company,,
Weights and balances …. Sitting forward
No door locking off the pilots? So they don’t expect terrorists on small planes?
It’s not 30 minutes. The train takes 10 minutes from
Central to Domestic.
I believe I said 30minutes all the way from central to being checked in, and through security.
23 years post 9/11 and we still have no doors on cockpits of small aircraft? Damn
believe me, it is better than risking your life with the worst drivers in the world. The worst is, that THEY think they are good drivers but it is a me..me...me...me attitude
a good way to burn money… 4 peeps onboard…
Now 552 6 july 2024 posted 14 minutes ago
Your narrative seemed a bit confused. You talked about Lake Macquarie airport which is the old Aero Pelican south of Newcastle - it used to run the Pelican flights to Newcastle. Where you actually landed was Newcastle Airport - at Williamstown to the north of Newcastle - is also the RAAF Williamstown air base.
No, you didn’t listen. He said the airline was named pelican after their OLD base but they are now based in Newcastle and he also said they landed at Newcastle.
？cockpit door opened?
Only 4 passengers, hmmm hardly economically viable. Can’t see them lasting too much longer unfortunately.
This service has been operating since at least the 80s. Somehow it’s viable.
I would rather take the train due to less carbon emissions
Frankly, this flight is bad for the environment and should not exist. The EU has banned flights under a certain time, and for good reason. Absolute waste of resources and complete disregard for the environment given the time savings are essentially zero.
That said, I enjoyed the video Josh.
The EU has ''banned'' a lot of things, most of them ideologically driven.
Show us the science, that this flight ''shouldn't exist''.
As bad as four cars?
@@bens6674 theres a train
Something a commie would say
@@user-hi5dd5qh9n silly billy!
My first commercial flight was with Aeropelican, as it was called then, from the old airport at Belmont in 1990. When I got to Sydney I asked how to get to the international terminal. This was before the train. I thought there would be a shuttle bus. There wasn’t. The only way around was by taxi. But it was fun adventure anyway.
We once flew Qantas buisness class to Europe on the return leg we landed in Sydney and had a flight booked with AeroPelican to Belmont from the domestic terminal. Qantas refused to let us use their shuttle bus as they said Aero Pelican was not affiliated with them. Considering I was a Qantas frequent flyer and at one stage did so many flights with them I actually reached the platinum level I was absolutely disgusted with them. I went to the Aeropelican desk at the international terminal where a couple of people were trying to book a flight but were being told all the flights were booked out. I handed them our tickets and said not anymore you can have these 2 seats back and went and hired a car. In comparison the service we received in Dubai from their code partners Emirates was the complete opposite. I rang them from our hotel told them we were flying buisness class with Qantas and they sent a limo to pick us up 40kms away it took us to the special terminal entrance for buisness and first class customers then called for someone to take our bags to the prority check in desk for us.