Route soars to success
Jan 14 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
MORE than 28,000 business flights have been made from Newcastle to Dubai in the first four months of the new direct air link.
Around seven out of 10 of the 40,000 flights were by business travellers and the region’s private sector says the new route is opening up fresh opportunities in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. And Emirates airlines and Newcastle Airport say they are delighted by the support of the North-East business community.
Liz Smith, assistant regional director of the CBI in the North-East, said: “It’s great news that the new Emirates flights are such a success. There are huge economic opportunities for North-East firms doing business in Dubai – and beyond.
“The high take-up of the service highlights how important the route is for business and will have a positive economic impact for the region.”
John Cartmel, business development director at Tyneside event management company The Whyman Group, has just returned from a trip to Dubai.
He said: “Dubai is a massive growth area and there is tremendous potential. We have made a number of good business prospects and there is definitely potential to develop long-standing relationships.
“We expect to be travelling out there again later this year. One of the benefits of Dubai is that you can work on a Sunday which means a business trip does not cut into the working week at home as much.”
Painter Alan Reed, who has won commissions from the Sultan of Oman intends to use the seven-hour flight for the second time next month.
“Our first visit was very good. I flew on to Muscat in Oman and intend to fly back in February to develop further the contacts we have made.”
Newcastle Airport head of airline relations and development Chris Sanders said: “We have been delighted with the very positive feedback we have received from Emirates on the performance of their Newcastle route.
“In its first four months it has beaten our passenger number expectations and we expect this to continue over coming months as more and more people recognise the benefit of using Dubai as a hub to reach their destination. For example, between Newcastle and Australia passenger numbers have grown significantly due to it now being just one stop en-route and shorter journey times.”
Laurie Berryman, Emirates’ manager UK North, says: “We are delighted with the popularity of our route from Newcastle. In the four months since we launched the service, we’ve flown over 40,000 passengers from the North-East not only to Dubai, but also beyond to other destinations on our worldwide network such as Australia, Thailand, China and India.
“Advance bookings for our service are strong and we are confident that the route will continue to grow in popularity.”
