Business Diary story about two rival air charters from Bermuda to Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica this summer.

Mr. Brown is adamant that he did not reject a request to help Creative Associates run its charter flight, as indicated by one of the company's partners, Mr. David Burch.

In fact, he says that CA, which is run by Mr. Burch, Mr. William Madeiros and Mr. Larry Mussenden, failed to follow up on their approach.

"They make it sound as if I promised to work with them, which is simply not true,'' said Mr. Brown, who has been running trips to Sunsplash for 12 years.

"People told me they had heard about a charter to Sunsplash and I realised they were proceeding without me. I called them and they didn't return my call.

I decided that was the time to make a move.'' He said his charter flight was "almost full'', in contrast to the slow sales experienced by CA's flight.

"As a matter of fact, we're looking at the possibility of a larger place to accommodate the overflow,'' he said.

Mr. Brown claimed that CA's free on-flight champagne and party pack for customers was nothing compared to the "celebrity cocktail party'' which he had arranged for his clients.