One of Bermuda's largest travel agents began lobbying for Virgin Atlantic to fly to Bermuda after British Airways changed its working practices, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

C-Travel claims to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars since BA slashed its commission rate from between six and ten per cent to a flat $30 rate. As a result the company began courting Richard Branson's rival carrier in direct response to the changes made on June 1.

When the British flagship airline made the change, brought about because of the dire state of the industry post 9/11, C-Travel CEO Carl Paiva travelled to Barbados to speak to travel agents there who had benefited from the competition that now exists on many Caribbean routes thanks to Virgin's involvement.

He then made contact with both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic and met with executives from the airline in Las Vegas as recently as two weeks ago - something Government and Bermudian airport authorities are aware of.

"This change in commission rates has cost us a lot of money," Mr. Paiva told The Royal Gazette.

"It's difficult to quantify exactly how much we have lost, but if we sell a $10,000 ticket we only make $30. It has become uneconomical for us to sell British Airways - it is a terrible state of affairs.

"You now have a situation where a foreign entity is draining money out of the Bermudian economy and that cannot be right.

"Before, on a $7,000 ticket, as much as $700 was being put into the economy here, now just $30 is. There is no longer an incentive for us to sell British Airways tickets and it is not good for the Island businesses and job prospects.

"Having a monopoly situation on the key UK-Bermuda route is just not acceptable. There needs to be an alternative and that is something that we have gone looking for ourselves."

C-Travel used to send customers to European destinations via London on BA but it is choosing to transport them to the US and then onward.

The company claims to have shifted more than $750,000 of business away from the airline, something it will continue to do if competition were ever to be introduced on the direct flight to London.

"We have already spoken to a number of corporate clients and have asked them if they would be willing to switch to Virgin if they were to start flying to Bermuda," continued Mr. Paiva.

"A lot of them have said they would be interested in switching as Virgin offer added value, particularly in first class. They are a visionary airline.

"I think it is a very realistic prospect that we could have Virgin coming to Bermuda within a year or so.

Bermuda travel agents had previously received commissions of ten percent percent on BA economy seats, seven percent in club seats, and six percent on first class while in the United States, travel agents get no commission for BA tickets, in Canada they get ten Canadian dollars while in Latin America it is six percent and Britain between $4 and $16.

BA Bermuda spokeswoman Sallie Singleton at the time of the introduction of the new flat rate said: "We know it is a painful change and we value our relationships with travel agents in Bermuda.

"We have always worked very closely with them, but we all realise that changes need to be made in the present economy."

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown has repeatedly stated that it is the Government's wish to have competition on the UK route as part of an ongoing policy to increase air traffic and reduce fares.

"A combined effort (to attract Virgin) with Tourism is underway" he said.

"Our goal is to have Virgin and BA compete on the UK-BDA route. So far, we haven't been able to win Virgin over, but the work continues."

Virgin recently admitted that Bermuda was on its "wish-list" of new destinations as part of the airline's expansion.