Plans for more Canadian aircraft to service Bermuda have been shot down by the country's biggest carrier.

Air Canada has told The Royal Gazette there will be no extra flights to the Island as long as current demand continues.

And the indicators are that the airline, which considers the business market as most important, will not be considering extending its Halifax service or adding an additional gateway in the future.

Officials in Toronto are happy to just keep their profitable Toronto and Nova Scotia routes and say any changes are likely to be driven by a business sector demand, not the leisure market.

At present around 33,000 people visit from Canada by air, though the numbers have dropped a little, mainly as a result of the weak Canadian dollar.

The news comes as a blow to the Tourism Department's bid to extend the Halifax service -- which currently runs from February to September -- to the rest of the year.

And it dampens the enthusiasm for a potential gateway from Montreal or Ottawa.

Air Canada spokesman Nicole Couture-Fimard said: "That is the way the market is. We do not want to fly when there are not enough people to pay for the service.'' Ms Couture-Fimard said past seasons results were reviewed each year and the amount of business on a route is used to determine the level of service the following year.

But on the basis of Bermuda's trade, she said it seemed unlikely that there would be any change in the near future.

Tourism Director Gary Phillips indicated that a year round flight from the Maritimes could be a success and said he was hoping talks with Air Canada would bear fruit.

And he said there are also opportunities outside of Toronto that could open up new markets but would require direct flights, as Canadians are unlikely to want to make connections for Bermuda when they could take direct flights to other holiday destinations.

Ms Couture-Fimard said Toronto was popular because of its connectivity with the rest of Canada, and for example, had 30 flights from Montreal each day.