TUI don't fly to Vegas... It would be, at most, 2/3 charter flights with Thomas Cook or Virgin. Same as Jet2's New York flights
Thailand is becoming more and more popular, and I think people are starting to realise that it is more affordable than they expected. At most, we would be talking a fortnightly flight, say June-September (could work better as a winter seasonal flight though). That's 8-10 flights, 2400-3000 people. Probably about the same as Emirates alone carry from Newcastle - Thailand every month, never mind KLM, Air France and British airways. Not to mention the thousands per month that "leak" to Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham. So yes, Callum Paterson... I do think that Thailand is a realistic option in the coming years from Newcastle. VentureGo, TUI don't fly to Bangkok, so it would be NCL-HKT. Goa is a nice thought, but it was operated in the past on an A320, I don't think it would sustain a 787, even fortnightly. People are still quite reluctant to be as adventurous as India. It's difficult to convince a Geordie to go to Almeria instead of Benidorm!!!
DanAir89, I think you hit the nail on the head. I think some would certainly consider Cape Verde, and a weekly 737 out of Newcastle shouldn't be out of the question. But it's easier and less risk just to send it to Tenerife on another rotation. There is a lot of regional bias at play.
LiamNCL, I'm really surprised KEF didn't happen this winter to be honest. I live in hope! I'd use it if they offered it.
Heathrow Harry, I apologise; Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, Doncaster, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff, then? We've been significantly behind all of them in growth for a number of years - I appreciate that they might not be delivering as much profit as NCL, but there is a bit of a blip in growth in the North East.
Sorry for being optimistic but I remember the "I'll give them 6 months" comments on Emirates