Premier Ewart Brown last night said he was hopeful that the Island could soon have additional flights to Canada.

According to the Bermuda Airport website, Air Canada is the only carrier to fly directly to Canada and only to Toronto.

Working to change that, according to the Premier is Marc Bean, who when he was in Senate held the position of Junior Minister for Tourism, Transport, Environment and Sport Minister.

The Premier said yesterday that Mr. Bean, who is currently the PLP candidate for the Southampton West Central by-election, was leading the team responsible for negotiating with Canadian authorities.

He said: ""Earlier this week, I announced that air arrivals from Canada were up 26.7 percent in the Third Quarter.

"Considering today's economic climate, that's remarkable. Today, I'm pleased to announce that Marc Bean has been heading up a group within the Ministry of Tourism to increase our air lift from Canada.

"Given the recent encouraging statistics and the good news from JetBlue, I am confident that a new deal to expand air service from Canada is quite close indeed."

That 26 percent increase in the Third Quarter this year is based on 7,014 visitors arriving from Canada in the same time last year, versus 8,890 this year.

While the numbers for Canada increased those of the United States decreased by 7.2 percent from 75,328 visitors during the third quarter last year to 69,933 this year.

Mr. Bean, who is currently canvassing his constituency as he stands to run in the Southampton West Central by-election on December 4, said he was continuing to work on these negotiations at the same time.

He said: "Right now, I'm working around the clock in my constituency meeting with voters and talking to them about the issues that matter in Southampton.

"I'm also leading the Bermuda team working with Canadian authorities to increase our airlift from Canada. Negotiations are going well and we were boosted by this last quarter's air arrival statistics.

"Given the economic downturn, the airlines are jumping at any signs of growth."