When tourism to Bermuda was encouraged in the 1920s, the Furness Withy line pitched its product to a financial elite, who had all the time in the world to sail and relax upon arrival.

Today's international business people are that generation's grandchildren, for whom time is the rarest commodity. Their grandparents had two months to set aside for Bermuda; their parents had two weeks; they have two hours. Their grandparents had ocean-going liners; their parents had commercial flights; they have private jets.

A private jet is the late 20th Century totem of success. The little six- and eight-seaters which buzz in and out of airports and landing strips around the world, 24 hours a day, are the sexiest toys civilisation has come up with.

Money is the main theme in these busy times and jet ownership evidence of belonging to that small group of individuals and families, corporate executives and entertainers who are the seriously wealthy.

In the business world, private jets are officially most highly valued for the flexibility they provide. Those who need to, can schedule meetings in three different countries on the same day. To the business traveller, the private jet is merely transportation and, perhaps, evidence of achievement. But ownership of a $50 million private jet offers dividends other than flexibility. Individuals who live in politically less stable environments value the potential for a fast getaway: private jet as a lifeline. A medium-sized aircraft can fly, at short notice, to almost anywhere in the world, at speeds up to 600 miles an hour. To the swiftest goes the race.

Private jets require shorter runways than commercial aircraft, which offers a wider selection of airports for almost any destination. Most private aircraft avoid the major airports and their congestion in favour of smaller airfields, often closer to city centres.

Bermuda has found a number of ways to cater to the aircraft owner. The Island is the registered home to a fleet of more than 125 aircraft.

Bermuda caters to the air traveller and aircraft owner in four main areas. The Department of Airport Operations is responsible for maintaining the Airport facility, its runways and control tower, as well as the Airport buildings and concessions. Bermuda Aviation Services Ltd. looks after the aircraft, passengers and baggage on the ground, and cleaning, maintaining, fuelling and supplying. Customs & Immigration identifies, processes and taxes travellers.

"And we're the policemen,'' says Director of Civil Aviation Herman Tucker, summarising the role his Department plays in Bermuda's interaction with the friendly skies. Tucker expands a little: "Safety regulation, along with economic regulation, is our main function.'' The Bermuda Aircraft Register, one of the DCA's responsibilities, has been in existence since 1931. The Register generates net earnings of $1 million a year or more for the Bermuda Government, not counting the spin-off income earned by the Registrar of Companies, stamp duties, hotels, telecommunications suppliers, lawyers, retailers and other sectors of the Bermudian economy.

Bermuda is a highly desirable place to structure an aircraft financing arrangement, the legal work for which has become a specialty of the larger local law firms.

Bermuda actively promotes itself as an international jurisdiction for the registration of private and commercial aircraft. Among the Bermuda Register's selling points are, as usual, the Island's reputation and proximity to the United Sates, political stability, tax neutrality and, uniquely, an apolitical registration mark -- VP-B plus two letters -- not as immediately recognisable as the mark, say, of the United States (N) to those potentially hostile to its citizens.

Bermuda registration offers owners other technical advantages.

"Aircraft which have been on a register with a good reputation tend to retain a higher residual value upon resale,'' Mr. Tucker notes.

Bermuda is also attractive to those whose lives need simplification. The American owner of a company whose French jet is owned by a Brazilian subsidiary, with a German mortgage on it, may just find Bermuda's Register satisfies the requirements of all the parties.

Every aeroplane in the world is regularly and rigorously scrutinised and inspected for airworthiness. For planes on the Bermuda Register, that's another of the DCA's everyday responsibilities. Through reciprocal arrangements with other aviation authorities, Bermuda needs to maintain only a small staff of full-time inspectors, sub-contracting the work to other, more conveniently-located and fully-staffed national authorities on a reciprocal basis.

Although he is a serious and temperate man, a glint is visible in Mr. Tucker's eye as he explains all this. It is also visible in the eyes of his "left-hand man'', technical officer Ernie Roberts, and his "right-hand man'', Rod Scott, principal airworthiness surveyor. The three are gathered around the conference room table in the Department's offices on Cahow Way, with manufacturers' models of jets suspended above their heads throughout the room.

The glint can be seen in the eyes of anyone who works in the field of private aviation, owner or passenger, or even civil servant. Private aviation is the axis of big money, speed and power. Aviation operates the sexiest workplaces in the world, outside of Formula One racing, and Bermuda is the sexiest jurisdiction in the world.

"Bermuda has a good reputation for standards,'' Mr. Tucker says. "We've been audited and assessed, and recognised. We're not the cheapest, nor the most expensive. We've chosen to be average in that area.'' Business jets cost $30 million to $40 million at the factory gate. A well-maintained aircraft will hold much of its value throughout its working life, unlike a car or a computer.

Bermuda charges, on the average, $10,000 for an annual certificate, which is a tiny part of the annual cost of ownership and operation of a jet aircraft when considered alongside the costs of crew, maintenance, fuel, landing fees, storage and insurance.

Many of the owners of Bermuda-registered aircraft have paid a few thousand dollars more to register a Bermuda company to take title to the plane.

"There is a legislative requirement that you be a British citizen, or a citizen of the Territories or the Commonwealth, to register an aircraft in Bermuda,'' Tucker explains. "If you form a Bermuda exempted company which owns the aircraft, then you can register here.'' The Bermuda Monetary Authority carries out a due diligence investigation on applicants, which, it is generally agreed, keeps the wrong people away. Beyond the statutory requirements, "you need to form some sort of a relationship with Bermuda'', Mr. Tucker says.

The Bermuda Register had 127 aircraft towards the end of May. Most Bermuda-registered aircraft, probably 95 percent, are owned by international businesses.

"The corporate owners are, in the main, Fortune 500 companies, names that you'd recognise,'' Mr. Tucker says. "We also have commercial aircraft on the Register, although corporate aircraft are our meat and potatoes.'' Commercial aircraft are an attractive proposition, since the Bermuda Register bases its fees on weight. The airlines are potentially a high-growth market for the Bermuda Register.

"Leasing has become much more popular in the last three or four years,'' says Mr. Tucker. "More and more airlines are leasing, rather than buying aircraft.

Those countries which cannot afford to buy aircraft can afford to lease them.'' The manufacturers and leasing companies, banks and other financial institutions which own the leased aircraft are reluctant to base their high-value equipment in a jurisdiction which might not comply with international standards or one without a stable judicial system. Russia is a country which does not enjoy Bermuda's political stability; hence the 14 Aeroflot aircraft on the Bermuda Register, which are either owned by Western interests through leasing companies or financed by Western banks.

The DCA and his policemen cannot under any circumstances reduce the overall safety standards they apply, but they are willing to discuss ways in which compliance can be achieved and maintained with a minimum of fuss and intervention.

The Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation has a dozen full-time staff, three of whom were in Singapore or Australia as Mr. Tucker reeled off their names and whereabouts. "We maintain a file on each pilot that flies a Bermuda-registered aircraft, as we do for engineers who work on them,'' says Mr. Tucker. "Aircraft must be maintained by a suitable organisation, approved by us.'' Airworthiness is Mr. Scott's area. He is newly back on the Island after a working trip overseas. He explains that "people take great care of their aircraft. They come to us because they want to. They understand that, if we do our job correctly, we are looking out for their best interests, too.'' To err is human, and pilots are human. The Department investigates allegations of infringed regulations and often enters into a dialogue with a pilot or owner to rectify errors. The DCA can, in the last instance, take enforcement action.

Mr. Scott refers to the purpose of his recent trip. A respectable airline was not responding to the Department's enquiries. The DCA withheld the annual airworthiness certificate, making the aircraft ineligible for flight. "We didn't need to go to court,'' Mr. Scott adds.

The Department investigates accidents and incidents. Two people died aboard a Bermuda-registered aircraft some years ago, an accident investigated where it took place. Were a craft to come down in Bermuda, the DCA and his team would take responsibility for the initial investigation. The United Kingdom would ultimately be responsible, which means that Bermuda need not maintain on its payroll all the skills necessary for a full investigation, representing a considerable cost saving.

"Accident investigation is an art and a science,'' says technical officer Mr.

Roberts. "If an aircraft accident occurred in Bermuda, we would immediately notify the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and they would despatch an accident investigator to Bermuda. Until his arrival, the Department would take steps to preserve and make note of evidence which may be useful to the investigator. In this regard, we would work very closely with the local Police.'' That glint reappears in Mr. Roberts' eye.

"People here are passionate about aviation,'' he says, voicing a self-evident truth.

As far as safety and security are concerned, the Department is responsible to Government for oversight of all aviation at the Airport. On the economic side, the Department looks at fare approval processes, routes, new airline operations and international agreements. "If the Department of Tourism brings us an airline wanting to add a new route, we put things in motion with the UK,'' Mr. Tucker notes.

The Department is assessed as an aviation regulatory authority by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The goal of the assessment programme is to test how well the Bermuda Department complies with the obligations and standards placed upon it by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the FAA for the safety oversight of the operations, airworthiness and flight crew licensing of aircraft and pilots operating on the Bermuda Register. The best aviation authorities in the world rate Category 1 on this test, as does the Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation.

After this article was completed, Herman Tucker was appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Transport. His replacement as Director of Civil Aviation was not confirmed at press time.

Flying high: Former Director of Civil Aviation Herman Tucker.