The first flight touched down in Canberra at 7pm on Thursday and was greeted with a water cannon salute at the airport.

Tigerair Australia commercial director Adam Rowe said the new route had the potential to provide more than 2,500 extra visitor seats each week through Melbourne and Canberra airports.

"Tigerair Australia is perfectly placed to stimulate air travel for the Canberra market and we are confident this route will prove particularly popular among our core group of leisure and small business customers," he said.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the arrival of Tigerair gives Canberrans more affordable option of getting to Melbourne.

When the service was first on the cards, Mr Barr said the daily low-cost flights would inject $17 million a year into the ACT's economy and create more than 100 jobs.

He said he wants to see Tigerair and Jetstar fly internationally from Canberra, with ambitions to see flights to America via Auckland.

"Visitors from Victoria will find we've got a lot to offer, including major exhibitions - such as the NGA's new Versailles: Treasures from the Palace and the National Museum of Australia's A History of the World in 100 Objects from the British Museum - plus our sporting calendar and the capital's food and wine scene," he said.

Canberra Airport's managing director Stephen Byron echoed Minister Barr's comments, saying he believed Tigerair's new services would let Victorians take advantage of Canberra's tourism and business opportunities.

Tigerair Australia recently launched a hipster marketing campaign with Visit Canberra to promote the capital region's tourism and bring more visitors to Canberra.

The route's launch came after Qatar Airways' "surprise" announcement that Canberrans would be able to fly direct to Doha within the next two years.

The Middle Eastern airline said it would add the nation's capital as its fifth direct Australian destination.