wake of a poor summer season.

It is unlikely that American Airlines will be flying to the Island from Boston next summer, the airline's local general manager, Carol DeCouto, said yesterday.

She said reasons for not having the flight were the unavailability of aircraft for the route and similar problems that had plagued previous operators on the route.

US Airways abandoned the route in 1996 after citing "business exigencies'' and Northwest Airlines also pulled out of the operation after being unable to make it work.

"The market there does not seem big enough to support two carriers,'' said Mrs. DeCouto.

March 24 marked American's first flight of the year between Boston and Bermuda. The airline joined Delta in providing the only air links between the two destinations.

Mrs. DeCouto said the budget for 1998 was in the process of being prepared but it did not look like the Boston to Bermuda run would be on American Airlines' schedule.

The run was set to conclude on October 31 and resume on April 6.

The new service coincided with a $500,000 cooperative marketing effort involving Island hotels, American travel wholesalers, and the Department of Tourism.

Having two airlines in competition was expected to result in lower airfares and credit for the run when it began was given to the Department of Tourism's Paul Zar and Toby Dillas.

Mr. Zar has since left the department for a senior executive post at travel wholesaler Liberty Travel/Go-Go World Wide Vacations. Mr. Dillas, the new North American sales director for Tourism, could not be reached for comment.