The Hon. Wayne Furbert, JP, MP, Minister of Transport, met with senior British Airways officials in London to discuss partnerships and strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the longstanding air connection between Bermuda and London. Joining the Minister in the meetings were Lester Nelson, CEO of the Bermuda Airport Authority (BAA), and Aaron Adderley, President of Skyport. The British Airways’ team was led by James Yardley, VP International Airlines Group (BA’s parent) who was joined by his colleagues from network planning, operations, catering and security.

Minister Furbert added, “The Bermuda and British Airways teams shared data that showed that the direct air service from Heathrow had outperformed the pre-pandemic direct air service from Gatwick. However, data also showed there continues to be an opportunity to increase connectivity beyond London Heathrow to Europe, and other destinations to the east. Further discussions will be held with BA’s destinations partnerships team and the Bermuda Tourism Authority to promote Bermuda in the UK market.”

BA’s revenue management team were not present, but the Minister took the opportunity to ask BA to explore potential opportunities for lowering economy fares to make Bermuda a more accessible and competitive destination. The Minister also provided an update on the planned increase in hotel rooms upon the completion of the Fairmont Southampton redevelopment project.

The Bermuda and British Airways teams found the meeting to be highly productive, paving the way for a strengthened partnership and new initiatives to support Bermuda’s tourism and travel industry.