Low cost airline JetBlue Airways' inaugural flight to Bermuda is due to touch down at Bermuda International Airport this morning ushering in the latest initiative to boost tourism on the Island.

And amongst the first passengers to disembark from the New York flight just after 11 a.m. are expected to be Tourism Minister Ewart Brown and JetBlue's chief executive David Neeleman.

The arrival of one of the most successful US airline start-ups of the past decade will allow customers to buy tickets for as little as $129 one-way between North America and Bermuda.

The Government has been attempting to bring the airline to the Island for the past four years and finally reached an agreement earlier this year and just days after a reception on the Island with JetBlue executives, which was also attended by Bermuda's Oscar-winning couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Deputy Premier Dr. Brown has strongly advocated the need to bring more competitive airfares to the Bermuda flight market in order to increase the number of air passengers coming to the Island to 400,000 within the next three years. Last year the number of air arrivals was 269,500.

The Minister has been in New York during the last few days to give a final promotional push before the launch of the new twice-daily service.

"We are pulling out all the stops to make this flight a great success. Our sales team is mobilised and our integrated marketing team is aggressively pushing the Island through multi-media channels. We're leaving no stone unturned to get visitors excited about Bermuda," said Dr. Brown.

Palm trees, beach umbrellas, a row of customised pink Vespa mopeds complete with riders wearing traditional Bermuda shorts, and the "Feel the Love" Bermuda tourism music playing in the background, made an unusual sight in downtown New York earlier this week.

A team from Bermuda Department of Tourism's New York sales office joined with JetBlue to create a beach scene and interactive display at Pershing Square, next to Grand Central Station, designed to capture the attention of thousands of lunchtime crowds in one of Manhattan's busiest spots.

They handed out Barritt's Ginger Beer, answered questions and held a contest to win a three-night stay in Bermuda.

The pink Vespas and JetBlue's distinctive "Betty Blue" Airstream vehicle have been driving around New York city this week making stops at Times Square, Central Park and the Rockefeller Centre to spread the news about the new Bermuda flights.

JetBlue vice president of corporate communications Todd Burke, told The Royal Gazette earlier this year that the company decided to start a Bermuda service after purchasing new 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft giving it greater flexibility with scheduling and lessening the worry of having to fly a loss-making flight as can happen when a larger capacity aircraft flies only half full of passengers.