HAMILTON, Bermuda - Bermuda Direct Air Service has announced plans to connect the island with the Caribbean using executive jets with the initial service to the Dominican Republic starting later this month.
(File Photo)The company said it is also looking at introducing direct flights to St Kitts and Barbados.
The charter airline, which is a subsidiary of Scotts Air, said that the service to the Dominican Republic is schedule to begin on December 9. The company said once the December and January flights have been completed, the company will have an official launch around the second quarter of next year.
The company is owned by former transport minister and chairman of the Bermuda Airport Authority, Lawrence Scott, and earlier this year conducted two test flights using an aircraft with a capacity of 50 passengers.
However, the private jets being used are expected to accommodate between 14 and 18 passengers.
“We are focused on quality over quantity. We scaled the seating down but increased quality of service on board to match business and first class. Our service is no less than business class and is comparable to any other first or business class service worldwide,” Scott told the Royal Gazette newspaper.
“We are now focused on what is called the experience economy. It is not just the destination that is the highlight of the trip, it is also the travel. You turn the journey into an experience. We are not the only ones doing this. Qatar and Emirates are doing a private jet service.
“We are charging US$1,800 one way or US$2,500 for a round trip to the Dominican Republic. However, we speak of convenience. You go to the private jet facility 30 minutes before departure, walk around to immigration, they mark your passport and there is an expedited security process.”
Scott estimated that a direct flight from Bermuda to the Caribbean by any other private jet service could cost tens of thousands of dollars and that the flights being offered are only US$300 more expensive than the charter flights, the company ran in the summer.
Scott said if there is demand for more seats than the jet caters for, the company will just add an extra jet rather than using an aircraft with more seats.
Referring to challenges that Scotts Craft encountered on its launch relating to the requirement for some nationals to have a transit visa on arrival to Bermuda, Scott told the newspaper that talks with the Bermuda government are continuing and operations have been adapted.
“There was a differing of opinion between our team and government. Talks are continuing, and we are getting a better understanding of where they had some concerns about the process. One was having the aircraft start and end in Bermuda.
“In August, our plane came to Bermuda empty, picked up the passengers, took them to the Caribbean and brought them back, and that was the end of the flight. It wasn’t scheduled to go anywhere after that.
“The government said, what if a person coming out of the Caribbean doesn’t have the proper paperwork and can’t be landed? How do we get them back? We adjusted our operation so the flights start and end in the Caribbean. If a passenger has to be repatriated, he goes back on the same plane an hour later.”
Scott told the Royal Gazette that as it is a new business model, “we are working through it with other relevant stakeholders and getting to a point where it is mutually beneficial for everybody”.
Scott said the company was looking at introducing direct flights to St Kitts and Barbados, two Caribbean countries that do not require the transit visa to land here. He said the flights to the Dominican Republic, a country subject to the visa control, would continue given there are enough people from the country who are considered to be belonging to Bermuda and are therefore exempt from the transit-visa requirement.
He said he hoped that an agreement could be met with the government to relax visa laws to be able to provide a direct flight to Jamaica.
