A Boeing 737-800, full to capacity, with 180 passengers including 30 invited guests, landed to a celebratory water arch by airport fire engines.
A giant yellow and gold scarf was pushed out the window by the pilots and wrapped around the nose of the aircraft.
Mr Chin and Pacific Blue chief executive John Barnett were among the first to disembark and were welcomed by a haka from the Balmacewen Intermediate School kapa haka group and bagpiping by Euan Cowie.
The arrival of the flight in the Edinburgh of the South tied in neatly with National Tartan Day, with many guests wearing kilts or tartan scarves.
Passengers on the flight said they had enjoyed the trip from Christchurch.
The airline started flights between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch last November, saying at the time flights further south would not happen for at least another year.
But in February the airline announced it would extend its domestic service to include Dunedin, creating 17 part-time jobs at Dunedin airport as a result.
Its Boeing 737-800 is the largest aircraft able to land at Dunedin.
