(BA) front office on Front Street last week in a ceremony attended by a number of local dignitaries.

When the hoopla had died down, but before BA greeted, later in the day, a number of local travel agents who were invited to celebrate the revamped premises, local BA manager Phillip Troake revealed a couple of changes in BA flight details for next year.

BA flight days will switch from Friday night to Sunday night, which Mr. Troake expects to be more convenient for business and other travellers. And flight times will revert to 8.15 p.m. from Bermuda and 2.55 for the return leg to Bermuda.

The Sunday move will restore the tradition of Sunday's newspapers being delivered to the Island on the day of publication, which often resulted in lengthy queues to buy copies on the Sunday night.

As he reflected on the day's events, Mr. Troake recalled the path leading up to the big moment.

"I believe we've been in this building since we started flying in 1937, although I'm not exactly certain,'' he said after Premier Smith had declared the new customer area open in a ceremony last week. "The launches used to go out to the flying boats from the steps of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club just down the road.'' Mr. Troake revealed that, as part of the renovations, the back offices were also re-created. "The offices underwent a partial renewal in the 1970s,'' he said, admitting that he had never been especially fond of the front office layout which has been completely reinvented.

"There was a time when all the airlines had Front Street offices,'' Mr.

Troake recalled. "PanAm, Eastern and the others had a major presence here. We think our being here reflects on this company's commitment to the Island.'' The trip down memory lane hit what Mr. Troake called "a rough road'' in the early 1990s. The BA service to Bermuda at the time comprised largely transit services. "We committed to turnarounds. We didn't think we could fill them, but we wanted a dedicated service. We started with two weekly flights, now we're up to four -- and we'd like to go beyond that. But building frequency takes time.'' Mr. Troake pointed out that given the relatively small number of Bermuda air arrivals who come from Europe meant that a significant improvement would not require an enormous gain in overall numbers.

A good increase was achieved last year, he said, although this year's figures are flatter.