very low seat sales in its first few weeks, it has been claimed.

Tourism Minister David Allen said the busy months of May and June meant potential visitors from the mid-west or west coast could not find accommodation for the time they wanted.

Speaking after TWA vowed to make the summer service a hit by renewing their marketing efforts, Mr. Allen reiterated the Department of Tourism's mission to ensure seats are sold.

It was revealed last week that as few as six seats had been sold on one flight, with the maximum number of people flying to or from the Island from St. Louis topping out at about 48.

TWA had stated that they needed to see 70 percent of seats sold by the end of the season to consider running the service again next year.

"One of the reasons TWA load factors have been relatively low during May and June is that hotels have been so full from already booked business, that potential TWA passengers have found it difficult to obtain hotel space for specific dates they require,'' he said.

"Additionally, the start-up of a totally new service by an airline that has never serviced Bermuda before, from a brand new gateway, clearly requires some time to build up.'' In a statement, the Minister said the airline had agreed to bring in promotional fares, maintain net prices on seats and establish competitive pricing -- particularly in June, September and October.

Additionally, he said they were promoting flights to TWA staff, mailing frequent fliers and running Bermuda articles in its own in-flight magazine.

Bermuda Tourism allocated $250,000 specifically for support for TWA and has also expanded areas for its field sales team in the mid-west and west coast.

In addition, he said, there was advertising in mid-west newspapers and direct mail.

A cooperative programme for a minimum of $20,000 has also been launched with several tour operators.