I have been on a couple of the NOC flights now, much better than easyjet or Ryanair (no hidden extras, taxes, baggage charges) seems to be the general opinion from customers so I'm told.
The comfortable new aircraft, smart, friendly, enthusiastic and approachable cabin crew seem to be popular too. I'm sure word of mouth in the local area will soon spread that XL are doing a good job on this route. Fingers crossed for even better success.