aircraft to the Bermuda-London route plus a fourth weekly flight.

Bermuda is a key operation within the company's framework, stressed Dale Moss, BA's executive vice president for sales and marketing in the US.

Mr. Moss, who was on the Island this week with Edward Thomas, BA's vice president for sales in Metro New York, told The Royal Gazette : "Bermuda is a very important part of our revenue from North America.

"We had a very good year last year. We are delighted that we now have four flights a week with our fine new product the 777.

"Four flights a week promises to be a real successful product and we think our new lounge at the Airport is an example of how British Airways is trying to distinguish itself, not just with better people and processes but with a better product.'' British Airways' local general manager Philip Troake agreed with Mr. Moss, his friend of 25 years.

"We are very pleased with how we are doing so far, especially with the increase in capacity. I have been blown away by some of the numbers.

"On some days we have needed a bigger aeroplane, particularly in business class.'' Mr. Moss reiterated: "We are very encouraged.'' And Mr. Thomas noted that additional flights out of the Island may be feasible in the future.

"It is too early to say if this will happen but if advance bookings are any indication then it is a possibility.'' He said recent pricing initiatives had shown a positive increase in advance bookings, particularly in the World Traveller section.

Mr. Moss noted: "One of the big things we have done is incorporate Bermuda in some World Offer programmes. These provide wonderful price opportunities for flights to destinations within the British Airways' network.

"We are bringing products that have worked very well in the US to Bermuda to see how well they work here. They seem to be working quite well and they seem to be stimulating demand.

"They are driving business through the travel agents.'' And BA is starting to make inroads into the Bermuda market which travels to the UK via the US.

Mr. Moss said: "World Offers have drawn a lot of people who consider the easier way to get to London is directly then via somewhere else.'' But the airline will continue to exercise caution as it experiences growth despite public clamour for extra flights.

"We need to be very cautious as bringing on more supply is a very expensive thing to do,'' said Mr. Moss.

Mr. Troake added: "We are aware of the need in the international business sector for frequency of flights but the question is how we do it.

"We can not afford the Bermuda to London run becoming a loss making situation.

"It was a risk for us this year to go forward to a bigger plane this year. An increase of 60 percent in capacity is huge growth. It will be interesting to see the numbers at the end of the year.'' And Mr. Moss pointed out: "There is still more work to do. As we grow business here I would love to see us have a schedule commensurately robust with demand on the Island.'' And that is part of the reason for Mr. Moss' trip to Bermuda this week, he continued.

"I have not been here for two or three years. I definitely wanted to see the staff and have the chance to review what is going on in the market.

"It also gave me the chance to speak to our travel agents and talk with them about the business and how we can grow.

"I wanted to get a sense of what is happening in the market place and get feedback from them on the product and how we are doing.

"It has been a most enjoyable and informative visit. We have talked about the nature of change and the importance that it has in our and every business.

"New technology is just driving so many new opportunities but it is also causing us to let go of some of the things we have possibly done in the past.''