"mined'' in the US mid-west.

The airline's brand new service to the Island from St. Louis began on Monday and it has started building up interest in the several states which surround the gateway.

The flight is the only direct service west of the Atlantic seaboard which serves Bermuda, and the airline intends to use this fact to win over affluent visitors from St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis and Cincinnati.

TWA corporate speaker Barbara Adams said they expected people to come from anywhere west of the Mississippi river to catch the flight to the Island.

"We are very excited. This is a wonderful opportunity for service beyond the Atlantic seaboard,'' she said.

"I think it will be a tremendous attraction for upscale leisure and corporate business.'' People who presently go to Hawaii, Florida, the Caribbean or Pacific coast of the US for a sun and sea holiday are those who will be targetted, she added.

Ms Adams is currently escorting a 13-strong group of travel agents from Minneapolis on a detailed familiarisation tour of the Island. Stops include The Reefs, Elbow Beach, Rosedon, Fairmont Hamilton Princess and Sonesta Beach.

The agents are prestigious accounts with the airline and are running a fine-tooth comb over the properties and other facilities on the Island.

Early bookings for the flight were light, continued Ms Adams, but the flight was expected to be "quite full'' when the season picked up.

At the arrival celebration for the aircraft, TWA cargo vice president Joe Vilman said the service would need to be selling 70 percent of its seats by the end of the season in order to ensure continuation next year.

With a total of 7,000 seats available on a 145-seat plane, it will mean the airline selling around 100 tickets per flight toward the end of the season.

The service runs until October on Mondays and Fridays.

Ms Adams stressed that the airline would not be operating on the route if it did not think it could be successful.

"We are growing in markets that we know will make money, probably the most exciting thing is that there is no direct service west of the Atlantic seaboard to Bermuda, and adding competition to fellow carriers.'' As TWA's main hub, St. Louis provides the link for passengers from other destinations to fly to the Island and it will mean residents can visit the mid-west via a direct flight.

"We are very anxious to bring the people of Bermuda to the west. We can take you beyond St. Louis to those places that were not as easily accessible as they are today,'' said Mr. Vilman.

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is supporting the new air service with promotions and publicity in the mid-west.

Following a mid-west tourism roadshow in March, the Government is pumping $2.1 million into helping the new markets, which include the TWA flight, the additional Delta service from Atlanta and the reinstated US Airways flight from La Guardia.

Advertising in local newspapers, direct marketing and special introductory offers are being used to tempt travellers in the mid-west.