Bermuda is on Virgin Air's wish-list of new destinations, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

British Airways currently has a monopoly on flights from the UK, but eccentric entrepreneur Richard Branson's empire may soon challenge this.

A spokesman for Virgin Air told The Royal Gazette: "Bermuda is one of the routes that is currently under review. "We are always looking to expand and this is one of the routes at the forefront of this. It is on our wish-list."

It is understood that Virgin has undertaken extensive market research into the possibility of flying to Bermuda and despite the relative crisis in air travel since September 11, they have introduced new routes to Tobago, Grenada and Nigeria already this year.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown held talks with the two major airlines in January when on a visit to the UK and is hopeful that the long-term plan to bring competition to the skies around Bermuda is working.

"We have heard nothing official," Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette.

"But we have been doing a lot of behind the scenes work and it looks like it may be bearing fruit. For now, all I want to say is that I am cautiously optimistic."

On returning to Bermuda in January, he revealed he had had "very meaningful discussions with Rod Eddington, the CEO of British Airways and Barry Humphries, the Vice President of Virgin Air".

British Airways' monopoly on the UK-Bermuda route has meant high cost flights for some time, something Government is keen to address.

"We would like to see competition on all of the routes that come into Bermuda," continued Dr. Brown.

"My colleagues in tourism regularly inform me that cost of flights is one of the biggest hindrances and obstacles to people coming here.

"We want to see more flights and lower fares, and that is something that competition could bring.

"It is the Government's ultimate goal to make air travel to and from Bermuda as cost effective as possible.

"I believe we have a very strong market of people who fly to and from Bermuda and the UK."

Philip Troake, British Airways' Bermuda manager, said that the airline would be announcing its winter schedule next month, but "it was too early to say" what the details would be and what the airline's long-term plan for the Bermuda-UK route was.