Click on graphic above to navigate the 165+ web files on this website, a regularly updated Gazetteer, an in-depth description of our island's internally self-governing British Overseas Territory 900 miles north of the Caribbean, 600 miles east of North Carolina, USA. With accommodation options, airlines, airport, actors, actresses, aviation, banks, beaches, Bermuda Dollar, Bermuda Government, Bermuda-incorporated businesses and companies including insurers and reinsurers, Bermudians, books and publications, bridges and causeway, charities, churches, citizenship by Status, City of Hamilton, commerce, communities, credit cards, cruise ships, cuisine, currency, disability accessibility, Devonshire Parish, districts, Dockyard, economy, education, employers, employment, environment, executorships, fauna, ferries, flora, former military bases, forts, gardens, geography, getting around, golf, guest houses, highways, history, historic properties, Hamilton, House of Assembly, housing, hotels, immigration, import duties, internet access, islands, laws, legal system and legislators, main roads, marriages, media, members of parliament, money, motor vehicles, municipalities, music and musicians, newcomers, newspaper, media, organizations, parks, parishes, Paget, Pembroke, performing artists, residents, pensions, political parties, postage stamps, public holidays, public transportation, railway trail, real estate, registries of aircraft and ships, religions, Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys, senior citizens, Smith's, Somerset Village, Southampton, St. David's Island, St George's, Spanish Point, Spittal Pond, sports, taxes, telecommunications, time zone, traditions, tourism, Town of St. George, Tucker's Town, utilities, water sports, Warwick, weather, wildlife, work permits.

Airlines serving Bermuda

Four American, two Canadian and one British carriers provide direct flights

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us).

Bermuda gets more than 75% of its tourists from the USA, 5% from Canada, 4% from the UK and rest of the world combined. Hence the great majority of Bermuda's direct airline arrivals and departures are mostly from US East Coast cities. (There are no longer any flights between Halifax and Bermuda or Baltimore Washington, instead, there are now flights from Washington DC to Bermuda, as shown below. Nor are there any commercial flights from or to the Caribbean, 900 miles south. Bermuda is NOT in the Caribbean. Going there from Bermuda is via the USA or Canada or UK). Bermuda is 568 miles east of North Carolina (with a daily flight), 693 miles south east of New York (with daily flights), 729 miles south of Nova Scotia, 770 miles south east of Boston (with daily flights), 788 miles north east of Nassau (no connection by air but via the USA), 1115 miles south east of Toronto (with daily flights), 1290 miles north of Puerto Rico (via the USA), 2055 miles from Winnipeg (via Toronto) and 2996 miles from London, England (a daily flight).

Aircraft apron in Bermuda

Latest news

Bermuda has reopened its airport to visitors who pass appropriate pre-arrival, post-arrival and thereafter periodic pandemic-free tests.  

Airlines have resumed service to and from Bermuda, but on greatly reduced schedules. 

• Air Canada (Toronto)
• American Airlines (New York, Miami and Philadelphia)
• British Airways (London).
• Delta (New York, Boston and Atlanta). 
• JetBlue (JFK and Boston). 
• United (Seasonal)
• WestJet (Toronto). 

Bermuda has no international regularly scheduled airline of its own. Although this was not always the case - see Bermuda's Aviation Pioneers. The last one was Eagle Airlines (Bermuda) Ltd in the late 1950s.

  Air Canada

Toronto-Bermuda direct. The local head office (open Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm).  L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda. 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish, Bermuda, telephone (441) 293-0793, fax (441) 293-0667. Telephone Aero plan 1-800-623-0752; Passenger Reservations & Information 1-800-776-3000 (7 am to 3 am, 20 hours daily); Air Freight (441) 293-2480 or 2105; Baggage (441) 293-0794; Flight Information (441) 293-1777.

Formed in 1937 as Trans Canada Air Lines, It first flew in 1939. In September, 1946, in one of the first not pressurized Canadian North Star aircraft, it surveyed the route from Montreal to Bermuda. In 1948 it began a Montreal Toronto Bermuda route and established air to ground communications systems it needed, in Bermuda, Goose Bay, Labrador and Gander, Newfoundland. It commissioned the 1986 book "It Seems Like Only Yesterday" by Philip Smith to commemorate its 50th anniversary. Year-round service. 

 American Airlines

From New York, Miami and Philadelphia, direct. Main office is at L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda., 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish. Telephone Reservations & Information at 1-800-622-1015 or fax 1-441-293 1270. Air Cargo (441) 293-1972; Baggage (441) 293-3073.

It began daily non-stop service between Bermuda and New York (JFK) on September 8, 1975. That first Bermuda flight on American was a Boeing 707 from Boston's Logan International (BOS). It has been flying to Bermuda ever since. Now-defunct US Airways merged into American Airlines in October 2015.Now Bermuda's most frequent carrier, with some services daily year round.

  British Airways (BA)

London Gatwick (until 28 March 2021, then London Heathrow) to Bermuda, direct. Front Street City of Hamilton ticketing office is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Also at L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda, 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish. Telephone toll free 1 - 800 AIRWAYS (1-800-247-9297) for automated services 24 hours daily including fares, schedules, flight arrivals, departure times. Local telephone numbers are Airport Customer and Baggage Service (441) 293-1944; Executive Office (441) 295-0710; and Sales Manager (441) 296-2031.

No airline has linked Bermuda to the outside world for longer. It began services to Bermuda on May 18, 1937 - see Bermuda Aviation -  as Imperial Airways with a survey flight on May 25, the first passenger carrying flight on June 8 and official inaugural flight on June 12, via flying boat G-ADUU RMA "Cavalier" shipped to Bermuda in parts from Britain, then re-assembled by Imperial's engineers. It and Pan American World Airways - now gone - were the original pioneers of commercial air services to Bermuda. 

It once flew between Bermuda, New York and Miami and Bermuda to the Caribbean. It began flying in UK in 1919 as Daimler Air Hire, then Daimler Airway. Handley Page Transport was added to the stable, then Instone Air Line and British Marine Air Navigation (BMAN). The amalgamated service became Imperial Airways in 1924 and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1939, then British Airways again. Passengers who can afford it should seriously consider going at least Premium Economy for a vastly more enjoyable flight with more comfort, better seat pitch, leg room, food and service. BA's single most profitable route is this Bermuda run, with the added bonus of no competition from Virgin Atlantic or any other, unlike in all BA's other routes.

Flying to and from UK, its Air Passenger Duty (APD) Tax applicable to Bermudians and residents

Tax per passenger per single flight in Economy Class (Standard rate) and Premium Economy/Business Class (Higher rate). From/to Bermuda and UK. To other parts of the world from Bermuda via UK. Bermuda is in Band B (2001-4000 miles).  For BD$ equivalents use foreign exchange rates applicable at time of purchase.

Rates from 1 April 2018

Rates from 1 April 2019

• World Traveller Plus tickets from London Heathrow to Bermuda cost more than for flights to Barbados or St. Lucia in the Caribbean, both much further away. 
• Since November 2009 the UK Government has hiked its Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax to levels that are the highest in the world by a wide margin, by 375% in two years. Flying to Bermuda from this alone is now appreciably more expensive as a result. It now costs  more in taxes than in fares (as the above example illustrates) to fly from the UK to anywhere as the fare. 
• London and UK public transport systems ( tube or subway, buses, trains except for the Gatwick Express) are not designed for passengers with suit cases and are hugely more expensive than far more comfortable-for-travelers systems in France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, etc.

  Delta Air Lines

USA airports shown on website to Bermuda, direct. L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda. 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish. There is also a City of Hamilton ticketing office. Still as North East Airlines - before it changed its name - it inaugurated its Bermuda service in March, 1969, from Boston. 

JetBlue

JFK New York and Boston to Bermuda, direct. L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda. (1-800-538-2583) or 1-801- 365-2583, if calling from Bermuda. Began twice-daily high-season service from JFK New York on May 4, 2006 and Boston in 2007. This low-cost airline came to Bermuda after five years of wooing by the Bermuda Government. 

United Airlines

Newark to Bermuda, direct. Flying seasonally (April or May through September). L. F Wade International Airport, Bermuda, 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish. A subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Inc. formerly UAL Corporation, with corporate headquarters in Chicago.

WestJet Airlines

 Bermuda to Toronto, direct. L. F Wade International Airport, 3 Cahow Way, St. George's Parish. Began direct services to and from Bermuda in May 2010. A Canadian low-cost carrier.. The second largest Canadian carrier behind Air Canada. 

Bermuda Government subsidy to airlines

The Bermuda Government has recently significantly reduced its Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG) liability, through which airlines are guaranteed a minimum return for their service. Every year, the Bermuda Government and its taxpayers pay out $ millions to international airlines serving Bermuda companies to cover the cost of Bermuda flights. They do so because failure to make revenue guarantee deals with airlines would mean losing Bermuda routes. Small islands and countries not attracting a million or more visitors every year have a challenge getting flights.  The payouts are part of the cost of doing business. Bermuda offers most airlines a minimum revenue guarantee which kicks in when airlines serving Bermuda and their volume of passengers don’t make industry-level returns. Such deals are understood to be common elsewhere when facing similar shortfalls. Cutting deals with airlines is not optional, it's either that, or lose the route. It's up to Bermuda not the airlines to increase the numbers of people getting on those flights. Jurisdictions like Bermuda with these minimum revenue guarantees have to hope their marketing will bring in the people. The Bermuda Government pays out an annual $2 million-plus subsidy to airlines when they fail to meet their revenue projections in accordance with the minimum revenue agreements Government entered into with airlines flying to Bermuda dating back to 2007. Airlines have a uniform policy of building into their fares structure wherever they go a standard formula for their cost of doing business there. They use a system based on net operating ratio per territory they cover, with the relevant impact on net operating revenues and net operating expenses. In airport user charges and taxes and fuel costs for refueling locally, they pay vastly more per square mile for a place of Bermuda's total geographical size for their airport and city offices and other services than anywhere else they go. Plus, operating costs and staffing etc. expenses are much higher than elsewhere. Economies of scale in terms of numbers of passengers per airline flying to and from Bermuda don't exist, with Bermuda's total number of visitors by air - spread among all the airlines flying here - totaling less than 450,000 flights a year combined among all the airlines, compared to millions in some other jurisdictions.

Authored, researched, compiled and website-managed by Keith A. Forbes.
Multi-national © 2020. All Rights Reserved