BermudAir seeing big demand for charter flights, says CEO
The island’s newest airline, BermudAir, is exploring adding charter flights to its services after seeing a big demand from residents and sports teams, its founder and chief executive said.
Adam Scott said the airline, which only started operating on September 1, had already operated several charters for sports teams coming to the island.
He said BermudAir also had “dozens” of requests for charters from people in Bermuda ranging from corporate interests to groups.
“It's been a really great learning experience for us because we've found that there are a number of opportunities where it's otherwise difficult for sports teams, for example, to move around, to come from the Caribbean to here, and vice versa, direct or as direct as possible,” said Mr Scott.
“And so, again, one of the great experiences that we've had is that we can see that there's a real demand for that here in Bermuda.
“And so, to the extent that we can provide that for Bermuda to support the sports teams here, to support that, it's fantastic.
“And I think that bodes really well for us as a business, but it bodes really well for Bermuda as well, and connectivity.”
Asked if BermudAir would also do charters to destinations such as the Caribbean if it felt there was a demand, Mr Scott added: “We definitely see those demands.
“I can say we've had dozens of inbound requests for charters from Bermuda, for Bermudians that want to travel in groups, whether that's families or whether that's corporates, whether that's sports teams and the like.
“So, we've really tried to expand this and to put it very firmly in our view for the future direction of the business and the evolution of the business. There is a strong demand.”
When asked if he had anticipated that demand, Mr Scott replied: “I think it is an added bonus. And it wasn't so much that I didn't expect it or that we as a team didn't expect it.
“It was more a case that we moved heaven and earth to get to where we are today with the support of the community, with the support of the various stakeholders, and now, as we're up and running, there's a lot more opportunity.
“And of course there's a lot of opportunity that's very specific to Bermuda, and so we really want to make sure that we are there for Bermuda and providing the support for this market.”
There have been some videos of relatively empty aircraft, but BermudAir chief executive Adam Scott said: “We did everything very quickly, and we launched on September 1 only having been on sale for a week or so prior.
“And so we’ve seen our load factors steadily improve, much the same as you would expect with any other start-up airline.
“We’re really satisfied with the reviews and with the load factors that we’ve been achieving. We’ve had a number of flights that are at 100 per cent load factor, which is fantastic.
“In fact, we’ve had a 100 per cent load factors to all three of our destinations.
“So it’s been an amazing growth story. And of course, I think as more and more people experience it, it's only getting better and better. And I think the support that we’ve had from the island, from the community at large has been overwhelmingly positive.”
He added: “We have been very successful in terms of our capital raising. Again, we’ve been embraced by business leaders, by investors and by the wider community. So we're very confident that we’ve got a long-term plan and that the sky is the limit for what we want to do.
“I characterise our investors as, and this might not be the right term, but I characterise them as Bermudians or Bermudaphiles.
“They are on-island, and individuals that have an attachment to the island. So we’ve got a fantastic group of investors, and they’re all very committed to the long-term success of our business.”
The airline was originally meant to be all-business class but pivoted to a mix of business and economy soon after launching.
On December 1, it will launch its Dual Class suites, with 14 business class seats and 52 economy seats. The plane the airline uses is fitted with 88 seats.
“There will be some modifications to the aircraft which I’m confident that our passengers will appreciate. But I think that it’s all for the greater good and makes us more relevant, I think, for Bermuda,” said Mr Scott.
Asked why it had not worked out as originally planned, he added: “I wouldn't say that. I’d say that there are well-documented issues as far as the introduction of our pods are concerned, and we're really excited about the ultimate introduction of our Dual Class suites.”
Originally, the airline planned to have pods which would have seen a single seat with the other seat turned over to extra space for the passenger.
The plan is to have the pods for the 14 business class seats “as soon as possible” in 2024.
Mr Scott said: “We have had production delays and some concerns around that, but what we wanted to do, of course, was to uphold our commitment to the island to provide year-round service immediately, and so let's say our hand was forced to launch with the standard aircraft as we have today.
“Since Covid, there’s been supply chain issues, there’s been just production issues in general. And so, we started with very ambitious plans. I mean, this all really came together at the beginning of this year.
“So we’ve been ambitious, and frankly, the introduction of the pods was very ambitious as well.”
Mr Scott added: “I think, in fact, that it has given us some time to reflect on what our business model was and what it is and what it will be tomorrow.
“And of course, as a team and as a nimble business, we’ve been able to take feedback immediately and so we have adjusted our business plan, but I think that’s actually for the greater good. I think we're more relevant for Bermuda.”
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