It's great to be in the North

THE Great Exhibition of the North (22 June to 09 September 2018) will celebrate the North’s cutting-edge technology and inspiring culture that has defined the past and continues to shape the future. 

The free, family-friendly Exhibition brings together performance, visual arts and interactive experiences using the city as its stage, with activity in NewcastleGateshead’s world-class venues and outdoor spaces. 

Visitors can begin their journey at one of two Exhibition Hubs at the Great North Museum or Gateshead Quays (BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Sage Gateshead), connected by three walking trails focusing on arts and culture, design and innovation.

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UK Airports: Regional airports have highest levels of satisfaction

AS millions of Brits gear up for their big summer holiday, Cheapflights, has once again asked them to share how they score the UK’s airports across more than a dozen categories including shopping, cleanliness, Wi-Fi access, bar and restaurant facilities, check-in and security - even the loos come under scrutiny!

In the second of its annual poll, Cheapflights asked frequent air travellers from across the UK to review London City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and Stansted, Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle airports. 

Newcastle emerged as the overall winner, achieving the highest levels of satisfaction across all categories, followed closely by London City, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Bristol. London’s airports, with the exception of London City, continue to lag behind, with Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and Luton all trailing their regional cousins.

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Blooming good offer from DFDS

THE Dutch Bulbfields mini cruise package on its Newcastle to #Amsterdam route. The experience gives customers a chance to visit Keukenhof’s landscaped gardens, which display more than seven million bulbs of 800 varieties on a 32 hectare site from March to May each year.

Prices for the mini cruise package start from £111 per person, based on two people sharing an en suite cabin. It includes two nights of accommodation on board the Newcastle to Amsterdam cruise ferries, plus coach transfers and entrance to #Keukenhof with up to three-and-a-half hours to explore the gardens.

Bookings can be made until 14 May 2017 at for travel between March 23 and May 15, when the gardens are open.

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Picture Credit: MollyMaison 94535327@N07/27104538836 Keukenhof, Garden of Europe via photopin

DFDS reports record result on Newcastle-Amsterdam route

FERRY operator DFDS enjoyed a record year on its Newcastle to #Amsterdam service in 2015, carrying more than 580,000 passengers. The result was boosted by the company’s strongest ever May to September performance, during which the two ships on the route carried more than a quarter of a million people. Sister ships, the Princess Seaways and the King Seaways, provide daily sailings.

Max Foster, passenger director for DFDS said: ‘We’re excited to have set a new record on the Newcastle to Amsterdam service in 2015 and we’re looking forward to building on that with another record-breaking summer this year. The four-month summer period is a key time, and our teams at the port and onboard work hard to provide our guests with an enjoyable and relaxing start to their holidays.’

Passenger numbers hit record highs last summer, with almost 70,000 people using the service in August alone. The steady growth in the popularity of the route has provided a boost to tourism in the North-East of England, with more than 395,000 visitors from Europe and further afield using the ferry service to visit the region in 2015.

Foster added: ‘A key element of our success is our ability to attract a diverse group of passengers to visit the North-East, especially from Germany and the Netherlands. These visitors play an important role in boosting the contribution of tourism to the regional economy.’

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Up in the air … to Jersey and Norway

BMI REGIONAL will fly direct from Bristol to Jersey from July 16 for the summer season. The new route is designed for leisure travellers, with a Saturday morning flight each week.  Fares start from £80 one way.

The airline is also starting flights between Newcastle and Stavanger, Norway, from May 31. The Norwegian city is both a major business destination due to the proximity of North Sea oil fields and a tourist base with original dockside warehouses and 18th century streets.

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Ryanair expands winter network from Belfast and Newcastle

THREE new routes to #Poland are being introduced by #Ryanair from Belfast and Newcastle as part of expanded winter schedules from both airports. Gdansk, Warsaw, and Wroclaw are being added to the budget carrier’s network from the two airports for winter 2016-17.

These are in addition to seven new routes announced earlier from Belfast to Alicante, Berlin, Krakow, Lanzarote, Malaga, Milan, and Tenerife, as well as extra daily flights to Gatwick.

Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, said: ‘Our new Polish routes will be ideal for both business and leisure customers and we look forward to growing routes, traffic, and jobs in Belfast in the coming months and years.’

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Ship-Ahoy for the Great North Snowdogs

A PUBLIC art event in the North-East of England will see animated character The Snowdog set sail across the North Sea.

Approximately 80 large sculptures based on the popular character from The Snowman and The Snowdog will form a mass public arts trail around Tyne and Wear from September to December in an event to support St Oswald's Children's Hospice.

As the sponsor of a Great North Snowdog, the DFDS shipping line will host one of the giant sculptures onboard its ship Princess Seaways during August. The DFDS Snowdog will be decorated to fit a maritime theme and will sail between Newcastle and Amsterdam every day.

The trail will feature sculptures sponsored by businesses and decorated by national and local artists. At the end of the year, the Great North Snowdogs will be auctioned and money raised from the sale of the unique sculptures will support St Oswald's Hospice Children's Service, which cares for youngsters with incurable conditions.

www.greatnorthsnowdogs.co.uk

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Top stag and hen locations of 2015 revealed

THE UK’S stag and hen party company Last Night of Freedom has revealed 2015’s most popular goodbye to singledom celebrations. 

For the men, Prague is the top spot for the third year running. Newcastle came in at second place, followed by Riga. Other destinations that made it into the top ten were Barcelona, Amsterdam, Krakow, and Budapest. Women had slightly different ideas as how to spend their last weekend of freedom, with Newcastle this time claiming the top spot, followed by Dublin and Marbella. Barcelona, Edinburgh, and London also made it to the top ten hen locations for 2015.

This year’s stag parties were more likely to travel abroad than the hens, with only three out of the top ten stag destinations being UK-based: Newcastle, Bournemouth, and Nottingham. Three out of the ten of the most popular hen do locations were overseas.

Says Matt Mavir at Last Night of Freedom: ‘Choosing to go abroad to celebrate a hen or stag weekend around 15 years ago was almost unheard of. These days, particularly for stag parties, you’re much more likely to leave the country than visit a UK city. There are many contributing factors to this trend, including more affordable flights and accessibility to European countries. However, I think it’s the ritual of leaving the UK to celebrate the last few days of single life that is particularly appealing. It seems to bring a sense of real freedom, and with that comes a whole new level of enjoyment.’

www.lastnightoffreedom.co.uk

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10533549@N08/4888582339">Effie</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/13422316@N00/3769744890">Stag off the A897 Helmsdale to Melvich</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Ryanair plans Birmingham- Corfu flights

RYANAIR has announced a weekly service from Birmingham to Corfu, starting next April.

The airline has also announced the launch its summer 2016 Newcastle schedule with two new routes to Alicante and Malaga, expected to deliver 270,000 customers a year and support 200 on-site jobs at Newcastle Airport.

With the existing Dublin route (nine weekly), Ryanair will serve a total of three routes from Newcastle in summer 2016, operating 18 weekly flights.

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United's NY route from Newcastle to return next summer

SUMMER seasonal United Airlines’ flight between Newcastle and #NewYork will return next summer. The carrier is to run six flights a week to Newark Liberty airport between May 26 and September 6. 

United’s UK and Ireland managing director sales, Bob Schumacher, said: ‘As the first airline to offer a scheduled non-stop service to the US from North-East England, we are excited to return to Newcastle next year. Our flights offer business and leisure travellers not only convenient access to New York but also connections to hundreds of other destinations across the Americas.’

Newcastle airport chief executive, David Laws, added: ‘As well as connecting the region to New York, United’s Newark hub provides access to a huge range of key cities, including Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Orlando in the United States, and Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in Canada.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/34639903@N03/3439647651">Signs of Times Square in HDR</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

BA offers free flights for kids during Rugby World Cup

CHILDREN under 12 will be able to fly #free from Heathrow to Newcastle and Leeds Bradford on British Airways (BA) flights during the #RugbyWorldCup.

The deal is available until November 1 to cover the duration of the event, making it easier for families to get to matches at St James’ Park, Elland Road, and Twickenham.

The #KidsFlyFree initiative follows the cut in Air Passenger Duty (APD) for under-12s from May and an extension of the tax cut to under-16s from May 2016

Dale Keller, chairman of the Fair Tax on Flying campaign, said: ‘This initiative is a great example of the benefit a cut in APD for children has brought to families across the country. The UK still has the highest air travel tax in the world – it is a barrier to boosting our tourism industry and a burden on hardworking families taking a well-deserved holiday.

‘The government should follow BA’s and Heathrow’s lead and put consumers first by further cutting this damaging tax.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94882472@N07/8641269731">Sydney Treasures Photography</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Rugby World Cup worth almost £1 billion in tourist spending

TRAVEL search engine GoEuro.co.uk has calculated that the 2015 #RugbyWorldCup (September 18-October 31) will generate almost £1 billion for the transport and tourism industry. 

The UK will host 20 teams, more than 440,000 international visitors, and 2.2 million Brits in 11 cities. London will be the biggest winner, with 17 matches earning the city more than £197 million in transport, accommodation, merchandise, and food and drink spending.

The calculation excludes the cost of match tickets in the host cities, which are: London, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Leicester, Gloucester, Exeter, Milton Keynes, and Brighton.

www.goeuro.co.uk

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United to run summer Newcastle-New York flights

UNITED AIRLINES is to add a seventh airport to its UK network this summer with the launch of a seasonal service between Newcastle and Newark, New York.

‘We’re excited about the unprecedented range of travel choices we’ll be offering our UK customers this summer,’ said Bob Schumacher, United managing director sales, UK and Ireland.

United will operate five flights per week between Newcastle and New York/Newark from May 23 to September 7.

Passengers arriving at New York/Newark on flights from Newcastle will be able to connect with United flights to destinations throughout the Americas.

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Newcastle tops for Thomas Cook Airlines

NEWCASTLE has been recognized at the best performing airport for Thomas Cook Airlines in the UK. More than 92% of the carrier’s flights departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled time last year.

This came with the arrival of two new Airbus A321s at the airport and the introduction of a daily flying programme to Dalaman, Turkey, in the summer.

Thomas Cook Airline passengers also voted Newcastle the best airport for the speed of check-in and overall customer service, ahead of the airline's other UK bases.

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New routes with Flybe, Jet

• FLYBE has announced new flights to Amsterdam from Manchester and London City. The carrier will be taking on KLM and low-cost rivals with the new year-round routes, which will start this autumn.

• JET2 and Jet2holidays have announced seven new destinations to its network for summer 2015. The airline will launch flights to Antalya (Turkey), Gran Canaria, Larnaca (Cyprus), Malta, Rome, Prague, and Zante (Greece) for the first time next year, adding 1.6 million seats.

Three airports will have four new routes each in summer next year, with Jet2 to operate Newcastle to Antalya, Larnaca, Malta and Zante. At Glasgow a sixth aircraft will be added and four new destinations in Prague, Antalya, Larnaca and Malta, with additional flights available to Murcia.

Its network will also be increased at Belfast International where a third aircraft based there will allow increased services to Malaga as well as new flights to Prague, Rome, Gran Canaria, and Zante.

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BA boosts London-Newcastle service

BRITISH AIRWAYS is to increase its flights from London to Newcastle from June 2.

New return flights on Mondays and Wednesdays will mean passengers have 41 flights each week from which to choose.

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Departure lounge make-over

NEWCASTLE AIRPORT has unveiled the first phase of the £14 million re-development of its departure lounge. An Aspire Lounge now forms part of the airport’s departure area. It is the first in the country to have an adults-only area.

The lounge is part of a wider plan to upgrade the departure lounge, which will be re-shaped over the next year. The next phase will include a new walk-through World Duty Free store and new restaurants that will begin this autumn.

Gill Caleary, commercial director at Newcastle International Airport, says: ‘The development, where possible, will capture the flavours and sense of the North-East. We are using local suppliers and ingredients whenever we can to make the customer feel relaxed and at home, whilst showcasing the best of what we have for visitors.’

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New routes for Loganair and BMI

LOGANAIR has increased the frequency of its Edinburgh-Norwich service. The carrier has started a double daily weekday service, adding a third rotation after the Easter holidays to provide a convenient business schedule. As an extra boost to passengers, a Sunday service will also be added, with Sunday frequency increasing to two flights during the peak summer season.

BMI Regional has launched a service from Newcastle to Brussels, the only direct flight between the NE city and the Belgian capital. The route is operated by a 49-seater Embraer jet aircraft twice daily Monday to Friday and on Sunday afternoons. A one-way, 75-minute flight costs from £80 (including taxes).

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