Quirky niche carrier BermudAir has announced plans to more than double its fleet capacity, as the airline will soon be taking delivery of two Embraer jets.
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BermudAir adds more Embraer jets to fleet
In August 2023 we saw the launch of BermudAir, an airline operating flights between Bermuda (BDA) and other points in North America, including in the United States and Canada. The airline launched operations with two used Embraer E175s.
The company has now revealed firm plans to expand its fleet, as BermudAir will be taking delivery of two new Embraer E190s in the spring of 2025. While the carrier’s current E175s each boast 70 seats, the E190s will feature 96 seats. Compared to the E175, the E190 also has extra cargo capacity of roughly 1,000 kilograms, plus roughly an extra 1,000 kilometers of range.
BermudAir plans to use its third aircraft as a dedicated spare and on-demand charter aircraft, while the airline plans to use the fourth aircraft to increase frequencies to existing markets, and to expand into additional markets.
BermudAir currently flies to Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Halifax (YHZ), Orlando (MCO), Toronto (YYZ), and Westchester (HPN). In the spring of 2025, the airline plans to expand to Charleston (CHS), Hartford (BDL), and Raleigh-Durham (RDU).
Here’s how BermudAir CEO Adam Scott describes this fleet development:
“After just one year of establishing BermudAir, we are thrilled to take this next step in our journey. Adding these two Embraer 190 aircraft will allow us to grow thoughtfully while ensuring we maintain the high standards of reliability and service our customers have come to expect. This expansion will support our efforts to stabilise operations, create new opportunities for travel, and enhance the experience for everyone who flies BermudAir.”
“Knowing when to grow and how to do so responsibly is critical to ensuring long-term success. This expansion reflects our commitment to meeting the needs of our customers while continuing to deliver the reliable and exceptional service BermudAir is known for.”
I’m still not sure what to make of BermudAir
BermudAir is going on nearly 18 months of operations now, and I’m still not sure what exactly to make of the airline. Keep in mind that when the airline was first announced, the plan was to introduce an all-business class experience, with some unique seats in a 1-1 configuration.
But the airline then totally backtracked, and now the airline sells business class and economy. However, in reality, business class is simply a pair of economy seats with better service, so it’s not exactly a “true” premium experience.
Simply connecting Bermuda with other destinations in North America seems rather niche to me. Admittedly the airline probably has a great cost structure, between lower aircraft leasing costs (due to picking up used regional jets), plus presumably lower labor costs. But is the airline actually achieving decent load factors and average fares?
I’m curious if the company is actually already turning a (mild) profit, if it’s losing a little bit of money, or if it’s losing a lot of money, but is somehow painting a very rosy picture of the future, with a more scaled operation.
Bottom line
BermudAir is significantly expanding its fleet, as the airline is taking delivery of two Embraer E190 aircraft. The plan is to use one aircraft as a spare and for charter services, while using the other aircraft for an expansion. I’m not sure what exactly to make of this airline, though it’s certainly one of the more unusual airlines we’ve seen launched in recent years…
What do you make of BermudAir’s expansion?
I have no more information than anyone else on the demand, but here’s one take. Insurance companies are a huge part of the Bermudian economy. Executives are required to conduct business on the islands for things like board meetings. That’s a built in market. How many of those can there be? Well, for some companies 1 per quarter.
Getting to Bermuda for non-NYC/ATL/BOS humans is not easy. This might just be the niche that...
I have no more information than anyone else on the demand, but here’s one take. Insurance companies are a huge part of the Bermudian economy. Executives are required to conduct business on the islands for things like board meetings. That’s a built in market. How many of those can there be? Well, for some companies 1 per quarter.
Getting to Bermuda for non-NYC/ATL/BOS humans is not easy. This might just be the niche that makes: 1) it easier to keep a business’ overseas subsidiaries in Bermuda, and 2) the big carriers stay honest about offering service to Bermuda.
Is there also a one-way cruise market?
How much demand can there possibly be to Bermuda? Especially to places like Charleston, Raleigh, and Halifax.
There's two things that drive demand for the BDA to YHZ route.
The first is a significant number of students from Bermuda that attend university in Atlantic Canada. Looking at there website today, there's one flight that is sold out for the YHZ-BDA route and it coincides with the start of the February break for universities. Over the Christmas holidays, the demand was strong enough that Bermudair added a second flight on Saturdays to...
There's two things that drive demand for the BDA to YHZ route.
The first is a significant number of students from Bermuda that attend university in Atlantic Canada. Looking at there website today, there's one flight that is sold out for the YHZ-BDA route and it coincides with the start of the February break for universities. Over the Christmas holidays, the demand was strong enough that Bermudair added a second flight on Saturdays to ferry the students back to school.
The second factor is the back offices that insurance companies and banks that have set up in Halifax. Bermuda is one of the highest cost domiciles to operate in worldwide, so Bermuda companies take advantage of Halifax's well educated workforce that is in the same time zone to save costs. This drives a certain amount of traffic from these businesses to and from Halifax.
Air Canada used to offer a weekly direct flight from Halifax about 15 years ago, but they ceased operations of that route when they realized they could send the passengers through Toronto and not lose any business because there wasn't any appealing alternative options.
Sounds like you need to review this airline!