Could 'Bermuda Air' ever get off the ground?

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16: Flight of fancy or soaring success? Could a Bermuda airline be part of a tourism renaissance on the island?

The prospect of ‘Bermuda Airways’ is being discussed as part of the Tourism Board’s conversation on revitalizing the island’s ailing industry.

Key members of the board say increasing demand and developing hotels is the first priority.

But Chairman Malcolm Butterfield claims the concept of an island airline is not as pie in the sky as it might seem.

“We could have our own airline just like you have Cayman Air or Air Jamaica,” he said.

Chance

“We have to at least throw it out there as a discussion point.

“I don’t think you can skate over it. We need to look at it properly and see if it could work.

“It would give us the chance to control our airlift a bit.

“To some extent we are caught up in their (major airlines) financial model if we had our own we could dictate pricing and have some control over where we fly.”

Mr Butterfield raised the idea of charter flights to and from Bermuda as part of a public discussion on protecting and increasing the island’s current ‘airlift’.

He said good work was being done to ensure there were enough flights coming into Bermuda and to convince airlines to maintain their current schedules.

“We are working with the airlines with a view to maintaining what we have. Airlines tend to look retrospectively. We may look forward and talk about a wonderful 2012. They look at the numbers for 2011 and say ‘this is what we are going to do’.”

He said charter flights or a Bermuda airline would give more flexibility in terms of routes and destinations. “Is Bermuda ready for charter airlines in which we control an element of our airlift?”

Speaking after the meeting he added that he thought a Bermuda airline had the potential to be profitable.

“I think we would need to look at a public private partnership in terms of financing.”

Sallie Singleton, spokesperson for British Airways and a member of the board said a Bermuda airline was worth discussing in the long term.

But she cautioned that experience in the Caribbean had suggested such projects were financially difficult.

She said charter aircraft were already used in Bermuda, including this year for the StateFarm conference.

But she said the first priority should be to protect the current airlift and increase the number of hotel beds.

“Until we have enough hotel beds it is not something we need to look at right away.”