as an alternative to British Airways on its Bermuda-London route.

The drive is being made by GSA Bermuda, which has just been appointed Virgin's exclusive agent on the Island.

The company, which offers the flights through travel companies, is currently holding meetings with local travel agents in a bid to make them more aware of the opportunities offered by the airline.

GSA's general manager Mr. Graeme Seaton wants a situation where travel agents can issue Bermuda-London Virgin tickets locally for the same price as British Airways.

But first he must get permission from the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK.

And he must also persuade North West, Delta, USAir and Continental airlines, which fly from Bermuda to the US east coast, to join the plan.

Mr. Seaton wants them to charge a cheaper rate to Bermuda-US passengers who are then flying on to London in a bid to keep down the overall cost of the trip.

Not that there was much of a price difference anyway.

During high season, one can fly to New York for $299 (APEX fare) and onto London on Virgin for $558, giving a total round-trip price of $857.

That's just $9 more than the current high season, mid-week price of $848 for a BA ticket round-trip ticket between Bermuda and the UK.

Despite the current higher cost of going to Britain via the US, Mr. Seaton said there were two main advantages of using Virgin, which was voted the 1992 airline of the year by Executive Travel magazine.

Firstly, passengers had the choice of flying seven days a week as opposed to just two days, Tuesday and Saturday, with BA.

And, secondly, there was plenty of availability, unlike on the BA flights, where, according to local travel agents, it is becoming increasingly difficult to book the cheap seats.

"I approached Virgin to be its general sales agent because I felt there was an opportunity to offer an alternative service, particularly with BA cutting back,'' said Mr. Seaton. "We want to be totally competitive with BA in terms of price.'' He added: "Virgin Atlantic Airways is recognised as being one of the best airlines in the world and offers a number of innovative and unique services, particularly in its in-flight entertainment and personalised service.'' A representative of Virgin Tours, the holiday arm of the Virgin group, was in Bermuda recently talking to hoteliers and tourism officials with a view to offering package deals to the airline's customers, said Mr. Seaton.

"I also plan to travel to London soon to continue the dialogue,'' he said.

"There are also other actions occurring which will create more opportunities for travel from Europe with Virgin which may possibly lead to opportunities for Bermuda. There are some interesting things happening.'' Something that could be looked upon by some as being a drawback in flying to London via Virgin is that the return trip via JFK and Boston airports requires a one-night stop over.

But Mr. Seaton said this could also be looked upon as an advantage for anyone wishing to spend a short break in either of these cities.

One local travel agent, who was due to attend a meeting being held by Mr.

Seaton, said yesterday that many Bermuda residents wishing to travel to Europe were looking solely for "the cheapest deal available''.

The travel agent added: "People don't mind travelling via the US as long as its cheaper. From what I know so far about the Virgin flight, there are some problems with stop-overs on the return route. It remains to be seen how popular this promotion will be and what changes can be made to accommodate better the Bermudian traveller.'' Mr. Graeme Seaton.