In July, 2010, Newcastle Airport celebrated its 75th birthday in style. The lunchtime Airbus A321 “Shuttle” flight from Heathrow operated by British Airways was replaced with the much larger Boeing 747-400. The daily Airbus A330-200 flight from Dubai was replaced with a Boeing 777-300ER. From September 1st 2012 Emirates will be repeating its Birthday gift to Newcastle Airport (and the hundreds of geeky plane spotters who turned up to watch the spectacle) on a daily basis.
Emirates operates one of the largest widebody fleets in the world flying such iconic aircraft as the Airbus A380 Superjumbo on some of the longest non-stop sectors of any airline. Newcastle currently receives the smallest aircraft type that the United Arab Emirates-based company sends to the UK (Airbus A330). The upgrade will bring it in line with other airports such as Manchester, Glasgow, London Gatwick and Birmingham. London Heathrow receives 777s and a double-decker Airbus A380s.
For those of us who quite like watching heavy metal come into land at the Geordie airport, the 777 will be a very welcome sight.