in reply to Skyman!
thanks for pointing out the Northumberland bit. When I signed up for this forum, I was up that way and much closer to NCL. Since moved to County Durham, and so MME is closer. Just need to update that.
Eastern's ticket prices have always been surprisingly high. I understand their model and product is very different to that of Flybe, but I personally wouldn't justify the extra cost just for a free orange juice on the morning and a can of beer on the way home. Fortunately, I don't pick up the bill, and it seems that the company I work for has some agreement with T3, because I've never been put on a flybe!
I'm not sure how this route is going to compete with NCL. The timings from NCL are pretty good, the prices (I would imagine will be similar) and the flight is direct. THe NCL and MME catchment areas are also similar, and for Middlesbrough/Durham it might be better for people to travel to NCL for the direct service, rather than go to MME and have the stop in LBA.
Although saying that, typically how long would a Jetsream need on the ground? 10minutes perhaps? Presumably they wont need refuelling, or catering, so just a quick onload on the way down, and quick offload on the way back!