Adam Scott, the founder of BermudAir, fell in love with Bermuda over the course of several years of visiting the island for both leisure and business. Now, he’s touting BermudAir as a friendly alternative to major airlines. 

Adam Scott

Adam Scott

“It’s all about the Bermudian smile. It’s all about going that extra mile to provide a differentiated experience,” he said. 

Free economy class dark ‘n’ stormies — a drink invented in Bermuda made with dark rum, ginger beer and a wedge of lime — don’t hurt either. 

The airline launched service two years ago and operates a fleet of four Embraer regional aircraft, serving eight U.S. cities and three in Canada. Coming up is an expansion in the New York area and seasonal routes between the U.S. and Anguilla. 

BermudAir’s flights to Bradley Airport in Connecticut will cease on Oct. 23, clearing the way for the New York expansion. The carrier will begin serving Newark twice weekly on Oct. 25 and LaGuardia twice weekly on Oct. 29.

Those routes will augment the airline’s service to Westchester County Airport near White Plains, N.Y., which will be reduced from five times to three times a week as the new routes launch. 

“New York is by far the biggest market for Bermuda,” Scott said. “It’s the world’s best-kept secret as far as I’m concerned, only two hours from New York, and it shouldn’t be so difficult to get to.”

Mixing its offerings among various New York-area airports is a necessary solution for BermudAir, since landing rights are difficult to come by in capacity-limited LaGuardia and Newark.

Newark, he added, will be a key BermudAir gateway over the long term as the carrier moves into the Caribbean. 

BermudAir’s other U.S. destinations are Boston; Baltimore; Orlando; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Richmond, Va. It also flies seasonal service to Charleston, S.C.

Evolving on the fly

It’s been a winding road thus far for the airline. BermudAir was initially slated to offer only first-class seats. Scott said the intent was to be comparable to a semi-private carrier such as JSX. But supply-chain problems slowed seat deliveries and forced a change of course. 

BermudAir’s two Embraer E170s fly with a first-class cabin of 10 seats and a 60-seat economy cabin. BermudAir’s larger E190s have eight seats in first class and 88 seats in economy. Both aircraft types have rows of two across on either side of the aisle throughout the plane. 

BermudAir competes with American, JetBlue, Delta and United, with American being the market leader in terms of seats. But no U.S. carrier is flying as many Bermuda routes as BermudAir. 

Scott said one goal of his is to help broaden visitation to the island during its winter offseason. Still, Bermuda’s seasonality is the reason BermudAir is expanding into the Caribbean. 

The carrier will operate seasonal service from Anguilla to Newark, Boston and Baltimore beginning in December, branded as AnguillaAir. No other airline will fly nonstop Anguilla service to the Northeast this winter, and the only other mainland U.S. route will be American’s service to Miami. 

Scott said he eventually intends to extend Anguilla flying to beyond the winter season and to move into other underserved Caribbean markets.Â