Direct flight from Newcastle to New York announced

United Airlines is set to offer Newcastle's first direct flight to New York.

The service will fly from Newcastle Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport from May 2015 to September 2015.

The first direct flight from the North East to the Big Apple will operate every day except Wednesday and Thursday, to the States, and Tuesday and Wednesday back across the Atlantic.

It will depart at 9.10am, arriving at midday the same day, local time. The return flight will take off at 7.20pm and arrive in Newcastle at 7.30am local time the following day.

Flight times are seven hours 50 minutes westbound, and seven hours 10 minutes eastbound, reports the Sunderland Echo.

Flights will offer 169 seats, including 16 in United BusinessFirst and 153 in United Economy.

The Chronicle Live reports that prices start from £549, and passengers will be able to make around 300 onward connections, with 100 non-stop connections, to destinations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Newcastle International's chief executive Dave Laws told the Chronicle: "This is game changing for the North East, in the way that the Emirates service to Dubai was game changing – and what better way to celebrate the airport's 80th birthday next year than with this?

"We now need the region to get behind it. We need businesses and holidaymakers to use the new service and hopefully we can turn it from a summer service into a year-round service – and I'm confident that will happen."

Speaking to the Shields Gazette, Bob Schumacher, United's Managing Director Sales UK & Ireland, said: "We're very excited about introducing nonstop flights to New York from Newcastle next summer.

"We'll be offering the people of Northeast England easy, convenient travel options not only to New York City but also to destinations throughout the Americas. United already offers trans-Atlantic service from more cities in the UK than any other airline and we've every reason to be confident that this new service will be a success."