The first long-haul flight from Newcastle to Dubai has been hailed as one f the region's most significant developments. Business reporter Deborah Johnson speaks exclusively to Laurie Barryman, manager of Emirates.

AS the man who took the decision to add Newcastle to the list of Emirates Airlines' 86 bases worldwide, Laurie Berryman had quite a job convincing some it would be a success.

"We've been flying from Manchester for about 17 years, and then started from Glasgow in 2004, but I thought 'Where aren't we covering?'.

"We were missing a major part of the country - that being the North-East," he said.

"There were quite a few sceptics, wondering if it would work, asking why did we need to do it, but after the success of Glasgow, and knowing the strength and passion of the North-East as a region, there was always more than just a hope it would be a success."

After two years of negotiations, the idea became a reality and just over three weeks after its launch on September 1, Emirates' newest flight route is showing signs of being a major success.

Flight EK035 from Newcastle International Airport to Dubai has been fully-booked - and in fact over-subscribed - on most of its daily journeys. That trend will continue for at least the next few months, with several flights already sold out.

Emirates is already looking at the possibility of upgrading the 268-seat A330-200 Airbus used at Newcastle to a Boeing 777.

"The way things have gone has been absolutely fantastic, probably beyond our expectations, and it has definitely been one of the most successful flights ever launched by Emirates."

Its launch has been described by the airport's chief operating officer, David Laws, as "without question the most significant new route development in the airport's 72-year history".

The flight's introduction has provided access to new markets for North-East businesses, which could potentially generate billions of pounds of new income each year.

For thousands of tourists from the North-East, the route introduces Dubai as a single interchange for travel to 26 major destinations, including Sydney, Johannesburg and Beijing, with in-bound travellers also expected from around the world.

The flight will give North-East businesses access to the Emirates network, which covers, among other destinations, the Asian and Oceanic market, which alone is estimated to be worth up to £825m for the region each year.

Each flight has 13 tonnes of freight cargo capacity, allowing daily exports and imports from the North-East.

The trading links between the two regions were cemented earlier this year, when the North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) signed a memorandum of understanding with its equivalent in Abu Dhabi.

"When you open up new routes, we have found that a boom in business links often follows, as will hopefully be the case with Newcastle and Dubai, and of course, the places that can be accessed beyond that," said Mr Berryman.

"China is going to be one of the most important global markets for the next 20 years, and we are getting a very good business traffic flow to India, another emerging economy.

"There are major opportunities not only for businesses, but also for people in the North-East, and we have noticed a real trend developing in people going on to Australia, quite a few to Thailand, Beijing, the Far East. There is a whole host of places that people are really seizing the opportunities to go to."

The airline has also increased its commitment at Newcastle International Airport by becoming the main sponsor of its new £8.5m control tower, now known as Emirates Tower.

The impact Emirates has made has been hailed by business leaders. Margaret Fay, chairwoman of regional development agency One NorthEast, said: "It gives us better access to the Middle East, India, Southern Africa, Asia and Australasia. The Asia/Oceanic market alone is worth about £825m in exports from the region.