BermudAir is set to launch two new services, to Baltimore and Orlando, the airline announced yesterday.

It will start the service to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on March 18. The Orlando International Airport service will start on March 26.

The two extra flights complement BermudAir’s existing flights to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Boston, Massachusetts and Westchester, New York.

“The addition of Baltimore and Orlando to our network, subject to imminent final regulatory approval, is a clear indicator of BermudAir's ongoing growth," said Adam Scott, Founder and CEO of BermudAir, in a statement.

“This expansion demonstrates our dedication to meeting our passengers’ needs and strategically enhancing our service offerings, based on continual market feedback and evaluation. It’s a significant step that elevates BermudAir to new levels of service and reach.”

Speaking to The Royal Gazette, Mr Scott added: “Baltimore is a great destination. It has strong historical connections and will be very helpful for Bermudians who want to travel abroad for medical treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

“Also frankly, Baltimore is a really attractive airport that serves a really great catchment area.

“We are really pleased to be working with the airport at Baltimore, which has been very supportive of our endeavours there, and it is one of the natural destinations for us to look to as we expand our footprints into the United States.”

On why Orlando was added, Mr Scott said: “It is a great destination for Bermudians — I will look forward to taking my son to Disney World — but it is also the largest untapped market from the US to Bermuda in terms of catchment area.

“Both airports have had connectivity to the island in the past, and so this is picking up where others left off.

“With our model and the right size aircraft it lends itself to greater frequency and hopefully that can foster increased economic activity between both Bermuda and those destinations.”

BermudAir operates two Embraer E175 aircraft. Asked if the new routes meant getting more aeroplanes, Mr Scott said: “It doesn’t just yet.

“This is an optimisation of our schedule, and we have some redundancy or excess capacity with the existing two aircraft.”

But he added: “Going forward, we look forward to the introduction of a third and fourth aircraft and to continuing to build out our model which we are really pleased with thus far.

“Our plan has always been to grow this into several aircraft, and so there will be other announcements forthcoming and at the appropriate juncture, but we are looking forward to building the business, building this here in Bermuda for Bermuda and in the interests of Bermuda.

“I think there will be additional updates in terms of markets for us. We are definitely keen to expand our presence and put Bermuda more on the map.”

A BermudAir spokeswoman said: “This expansion not only enhances two-way traffic but solidifies BermudAir's presence in this crucial East Coast corridor and provides greater connections and convenience.

“Additionally, the new Orlando service complements BermudAir's existing service in Fort Lauderdale, providing a robust Florida presence and facilitating more direct connectivity and flights between the sunshine state and Bermuda.”

Recently BermudAir started offering cargo services to and from the island. The first shipment from Boston arrived this month for Dunkley’s. It said that a cargo service on its other routes — Fort Lauderdale and Westchester, New York — would follow.

The airline started offering service on September 1 last year.

“I think that we definitely saw the opportunity here in Bermuda and our team has worked relentlessly to try and grow the business as quickly as possible,” Mr Scott said:

“It has been a collective effort, not just Team BermudAir but Team Bermuda. The sky is the limit to where we can take this and how we can best serve Bermuda.”

The aircraft on the routes will have a dual-class cabin, with 14 seats in a business cabin and 52 seats in an economy cabin.

Tickets for the new routes are on sale now, and to celebrate, BermudAir is offering special fares on all its routes until January 31 starting at $99 one-way from the US and $199 one-way from Bermuda, including taxes.