LOW-cost air transportation finally looks set to come to Bermuda, as a result of years of negotiation between Government and New York-based carrier JetBlue Airways.

The airline yesterday announced two daily non-stop flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and the island. Pending US and Bermuda government approval, the service will begin in May.

Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown described the impending service "as a dream come true", adding that JetBlue's fares typically led to reduced charges by competing carriers.

In announcing the spring service, a JetBlue spokesperson said the company had already filed its request with the US Department of Transport to provide non-stop service to Bermuda.

"New York's hometown airline requested authority from the US Department of Transportation to provide international non-stop service to Bermuda," the spokesperson said.

"Pending approval from both Governments, the proposed service from John F. Kennedy International Airport would operate with two daily non-stop flights to Bermuda, planned to begin May, 2006."

Dr. Brown first began talking with JetBlue authorities in 2001, hoping the carrier's lower fares would spur a visitor increase and subsequently, a boost to the economy.

In 2004, the company applied to fly to Bermuda in 2005, but had to abandon that plan because it was without sufficient aircraft to service the island.

Bermuda residents Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones added their movie star power to the appeal earlier this year, attending a meeting between Tourism officials and JetBlue representatives in a bid to lure the carrier here.

Dr. Brown said yesterday that he was delighted with the result.

"This is a dream come true and I can't wait for the official ceremony to be held here in Bermuda," he said. "I think it will create a fee change and will turn the page for tourism in Bermuda. The overall impact of JetBlue coming is lowering of fares all around. It will constitute a multi-million-dollar injection into the economy."

The frequency of the flights indicated the airline's confidence in Bermuda travel, he said, adding, "twice a day from Kennedy is magic."

Dr. Brown expressed confidence that Americans, particularly those on the eastern seaboard, would respond to the lower fares.

"In our exit surveys over the past ten years, the cost of airfares has always been the number one reason for possibly not returning to the island," he said.

According to the Transport and Tourism Minister, the flights should prove a bonus for residents.

Said Dr. Brown: "With more people coming and considering Bermuda a destination, the impact is bound to be huge."

He added that the island did not need ? nor could it support ? hundreds of thousands of visitors at once, but that the flights would afford new opportunity to many New Yorkers and Bostonians eager to travel to Bermuda for a weekend break.