Speaking at the Destination Canberra conference last week, Tigerair commercial director Adam Rowe said the flights, which resumed in December, had been well supported.

The latest government data shows an 11.1 per cent increase in passengers on the Canberra-Melbourne route in December 2016, with Tigerair only operating for part of the month.

There were 87,600 trips made on the sector in December 2016, compared with 78,900 in the same month a year before, elevating it to the 15th busiest in Australia.

Tigerair has won market share with its cheap fares and improved reliability.

Advance midweek bookings can be made online for as little as $69 compared with $149 for Virgin and $169 on Qantas for the same dates in July.

Mr Rowe said Tigerair was "very pleased" with patronage on the Melbourne-Canberra service.

"The acceptance of the low-cost product back into the market is absolutely phenomenal and we're definitely happy with how it's going," he said at Destination Canberra.

"A lot of that is to do with the low-cost carrier campaign we ran, but you can't just say 'cheap fares' and be done with it.

"It's a competitive market no matter what the price. Customers demand value, reliability and great service.

"We'll be making sure we grow in a sustainable fashion, so that more Australians have the opportunity to travel within Australia and more specifically to Canberra."

Mr Rowe told The Canberra Times that Tigerair had tapped into a getaway market from Melbourne, with many people taking short breaks to visit the capital.

Initially the strength of the sector had been Canberra residents visiting Melbourne.

"There's now more on the Melbourne side, which is exactly what you want because there's more people in Melbourne to draw from," he said.

"When we first launch a market we build up a business case over a three-year period and we like to see how it's tracking three months in, six months in, and it's definitely tracking on target."

When asked if services from other destinations would be introduced to Canberra, Mr Rowe said options were being evaluated.

"Tigerair as a carrier still has growth left over the next few years," he said.

"It will occur where we have pockets of demand and see a business case building up.

"It's something which is ongoing and has been ongoing since before we launched Melbourne services; what kind of network could we possibly build out of Canberra.

"That's well and truly still happening today."

Mr Rowe said learnings from the Melbourne experience included the appeal of Canberra to groups and people wanting a "city break".

"From almost anywhere on the east coast people are willing to travel for a weekend," he said.

"We tend to find that for up to three hours, people are prepared to take a flight for a weekend. We're considering all options on the eastern seaboard.

"As we talk with people in tourism and airport partners, all of a sudden things can happen quite quickly; it's more just a case of having some numbers which we can rely on.

"The odds over the medium term [for extra Canberra services] are certainly good."

A spokesman for Canberra Airport welcomed the success of Tigerair's service.

"Canberra Airport is delighted that the Tigerair Melbourne service is being so well patronised, but decisions about future services are a commercial decision by the airline," the spokesman said.