Despite Government?s success in securing new flights to and from Bermuda, airfares remain outrageously high in the minds of much of the public ? and hoteliers, while supporting Government efforts to increase competition, continue to monitor the issue with concern.

A quick Internet search this week on travel site Expedia.com showed flights in and out of Bermuda from New York and Boston to be $731 and $693 respectively, both for the next month and over the Cup Match weekend, the peak of Bermuda?s summer season.

Meanwhile, a search for flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica from the same gateways at the same times were set at about $560 (from New York) and $608 (from Boston).

Bermuda was the most expensive of the Caribbean destinations advertised at the site, with the offer of airfare plus a four-night stay at Grotto Bay ($1,213) more expensive than the offer of airfare with a four-night stay at a four-star hotel in Aruba ($954), and significantly more expensive than offers to other Islands.

However, while two of Bermuda?s hoteliers expressed concern about the situation yesterday, they stressed the Department of Tourism is doing what it can and said they had not yet seen a drop in business, although they were proceeding with caution.

Fairmont Hamilton general manager Ian Powell said that while the hotel did not suffer as much as other locations due to its high proportion of corporate guests, ?we are not immune?.

However, the problem was a universal one, he said, adding: ?It?s accentuated here because we are an island ? but this is not uniquely Bermudian.?

Mr. Powell said that in western Canada, where he worked previously, the region had similar problems with the legacy carrier there, Air Canada, until a new airline, WestJet, was formed and gave Air Canada a run for its money.

?If legacy carriers can?t or won?t reduce prices then we have to go after other carriers,? he said ? something Government has already implemented with the introduction of USA3000 flights to Newark.

?I know he (Tourism and Transport Minister Ewart Brown) is doing what he can ? he?s not giving up, and that?s what?s important,? Mr. Powell said.

There is only so much the Bermuda Government can do, however, he added. ?They cannot mandate US carriers.?

Norman Mastalir, general manager at the sister hotel, the Fairmont Southampton, echoed some of Mr. Powell?s comments.

?This is a very big concern,? he said. ?We are certainly watching it closely because it really does affect the leisure traveller.?

Leisure travellers have to factor in the cost of paying for multiple tickets for family members, and the fact that they are paying for the tickets out of their own pockets, he said.

?We are discussing it regularly at the Bermuda Alliance for Tourism, and Richard Eve at the Department of Tourism has been working with airlines regarding the upcoming season,? he said, adding that a report was expected by next week.

The Island is, to a certain extent, a victim of its own success, he added. Airline carriers have noted significant improvements in bookings for the second quarter of the year ? and subsequently raised their own prices.

?Nobody is reporting a decline in business yet as a result (of high airfares),? he said, but the high booking season has not yet officially begun. ?We are keeping a close eye on it.?