A new private jet company will begin offering travel from Bermuda to North America and Europe from early September, it was announced yesterday.

Fly First Class Private Jets says it will offer significant time savings to those who opt to travel in its luxury aircraft ? plus the chance to avoid the long queues associated with current heightened airport security.

With a fleet of 14 aircraft ranging from the 11-passenger Gulfstream III to the eight-passenger Lear Jet 35, the company will not have an aircraft based in Bermuda permanently, but plans to have at least one of the fleet positioned on the Island on a regular basis.

Prices will vary, with the typical per-hour rate to hire a large jet at around $5,500 and from $3,000 for one of the smaller aircraft.

Gabrielle Griswold, executive vice president of the Fort Lauderdale-based Fly First Class said: ?Private jet travel is often thought of as wildly expensive and extravagant. We disagree. Private jet travel is becoming more and more affordable and mainstream. When you consider the amount of time associated with commercial air travel, there are many savings involved when travelling by private jet.?

According to Tom Murray, corporate manager of C Holdings Ltd., most passengers are expected to be business travellers and celebrities who want to save valuable time when jetting to locations such as New York City.

?This is becoming more affordable. If you are travelling first class (on a commercial plane) and you share one of our planes with other people, you are not paying a lot more,? he said.

C Holdings owns Contemporary Market Solutions, the company representing Fly First Class in Bermuda. Mr. Murray explained that C Travel, which also falls under the C Holdings umbrella, had previously received requests for private travel. However this meant that aircraft would first have to be brought to Bermuda to accomplish this ? bumping up the cost.

?Now we will have aircraft positioned here on a regular basis,? he said.

Although marketing is only just beginning, Mr. Murray anticipates that the recent terror alert which has caused chaos at UK airports and strict security for those travelling to the US will have fuelled the demand for the service.

?If you charter an aircraft it?s working to your schedule and you can arrive right up until five minutes before takeoff ? although we would advise 15 minutes. There is a quick private security check and if you have pre-cleared US Customs in Bermuda you can get straight into the limo or car waiting for you at the other end,? he said.

Longtail Aviation Ltd. is believed to be the only private jet company with a permanent presence in Bermuda, although other companies visit.

As has previously reported, Fly First Class is hoping to start running luxury ?boutique airline? commercial flights between Bermuda, London and Wilmington, North Carolina, in future.

Although it had been hoped to start in the first quarter of 2006, Mr. Murray said that the processing of the application to fly is still in the hands of the UK?s Civil Aviation Authority at present. It is now hoped that the service will begin in the third quarter of this year.