QANTAS captain Nathan Koch had some rather unusual passengers yesterday.

They were such important guests that they were even allowed to stay in the cockpit for the entire trip.

The “Flying Kangaroo” was flying a kangaroo ... well, almost. They were actually wallabies. Tiny baby wallabies that still look like foetuses.

So what were they doing on a commercial plane?

On rare occasions, the airline flies the critically endangered brush tail rock wallabies to their surrogate mothers across the country as part of a breeding program.

Capt Koch, who is also a qualified vet, said he has flown just eight times with the endangered species. And yesterday it was time for this trio of four-week-olds to make the trip from Sydney to Adelaide on a commercial 747 jet.

“The wallabies travel in a short term incubator that is purpose built for the trip,” Capt Koch said. “It allows us to control the temperature and keep them nice and moist for their journey — an environment similar to their mother’s pouch.

“My job is essentially to monitor them and make sure that they stay comfortable during the flight.”

He said they were well-behaved.

“I think they like flying with the ‘Flying Kangaroo’.”

They even upstaged the band Hanson, who are currently in Australia.

“They have turned into mini celebrities with camera crews often waiting at the gate to meet them. On our most recent transfer the band Hanson were on the flight who thought the news camera crew was there for them but it was the baby joeys they wanted to see.”