BermudAir will launch service between Bermuda and the USA a the end of August, bringing premium service to the market. Boston and Westchester County/White Plains will be served first, with Fort Lauderdale added when a second aircraft is delivered. The interior is not particularly notable initially, but later this year the carrier will install a custom designed “Aisle Class” seat on board, boosting the on-board product significantly.
We are excited to launch BermudAir as Bermuda’s first carrier, maintaining our commitment to start filling seasonal service gaps and establish frequency of service to and from the island this fall. Our mission to elevate the travel experience for everyone and provide well-timed, traveler-centric, stress-free flights on these new routes is just the beginning.
– Adam Scott, BermudAir Founder and CEO
The company will fly Embraer E-175 aircraft for the approximately two hour flights between Bermuda and the USA. Initially the plane will operate with 88 seats on board, but half will be blocked, resulting in a relatively comfortable cabin.
From November, however, the on-board product will change with the introduction of a unique offering. The company’s custom-designed “Aisle Class” cabin will have just 30 seats on board in a 1-1 layout. It is, by far, the most spacious passenger layout on the E175 family of planes for commercial service.
The Aisle Class seat also offers increased privacy on board. That’s great for solo travelers but could be challenging for couples or families traveling together. Then again, even Hawaiian has shifted away from its couples seating layout to a more traditional solo seat up front on its 787s.
The cabin will not have overhead bins, further contributing to a sense of spaciousness on board. Carry-on bags can be stowed under the seat (the company promises ample space). Passengers will also have power at each seat and the company promises “free Wi-Fi, including Wi-Fi powered entertainment and messaging.”
Details on which vendors are providing those services are not yet known. And just what the Wi-Fi service includes is also unclear. The company seems to indicate it will be available from launch, even before the cabins are retrofit. But the aircraft images available so far do not seem to show any connectivity hardware installed.
This is a very niche product serving a niche market. The intro $199 fares quickly move to $999 or more once the new cabins are installed, suggesting the desired clientele is very much a premium passenger. Just how well that evolves into a year-round market, including double daily service at White Plains, remains to be seen. It is not all that many seats to sell, but they still have to find those customers willing to pay for the premium product.
Also, I cannot help but wonder if there’s enough space in the cargo hold for the golf clubs that will need to move back and forth on these flights.
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Wi-Fi for a short haul, overwater flight? Would likely have to be a SAT solution. A stream video solution like BlueBox would seem to make more sense.
Yes, it would need to be a satcom solution for real Wi-Fi service. Streaming IFE is 100% part of the deal, but I can’t tell if they mean real Wi-Fi or if they consider the on board network enough. Sadly, some airlines do.