I feel I must respond to noiseabatement's post....it's clear (and he says so himself) that he got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.
You compare Easyjet, one of the largest and fastest-growing low-fare airlines in Europe with a bunch of whining, spoilt Biggles-wannabees who can't see past their own self-interests and look at the bigger picture....as if they should be treated equally!
Before the current management team arrived, Newcastle was an airport going nowhere...fast. How many destinations could you fly to from NCL? The sight of old Trevor Went clinging desperately to the LHR link with its £300 round-trips because it was his only route will stick in the memories of the Tyneside public for far longer than any Graeme Mason interview.
The public want to fly, and Newcastle International allows them to. There are no 'exclusive' incentives (note the spelling btw)...if BA wanted to base 7 A320s at NCL to fly a European network you can bet they'd get a good deal!
Aviation has changed for ever. No longer will government provide kilometres of paved asphalt so that a certain branch of their constituents can piss about and play Lord Flashhart for a vastly subsidised price.
Money makes the world go round: unless NAC can contribute something meaningful to NIAL's bottom line and therefore the community at large, you're not going anywhere.