BermudAir makes local history as first int’l airline to service HPN

August 30, 2023 at 11:27 p.m.

The specially designed interior seating on the BermudAir Embraer 175 as of November. The so-called "Aisle Class" seating will be confined to 30 seats. There are no overhead bins, so carry-on luggage and personal bags will be placed in under-seat storage. (Courtesy photo of BermudAir.)

The arrival Aug. 31 of the first scheduled international airline flight to the main passenger terminal at Westchester County Airport (HPN) was sudden and unexpected.

Two weeks ago, this newspaper was alerted to the plans of a start-up airline out of Bermuda, BermudAir, to apply to federal and County officials to clear a bureaucratic path to establish this historic service. 

This past week, BermudAir’s website went “live” for the first time to accept bookings starting Aug. 31 on Monday-Wednesday-Sunday flights from Bermuda, leaving Bermuda (BDA) at 3:55 p.m. and arriving at HPN at 5:00 p.m., and returning to Bermuda leaving HPN at 6:00 p.m. and arriving at 9:00 p.m.

Local observers cannot recall any major service of this kind ever happening as quickly.

BermudAir Founder/CEO Adam Scott told the Westmore News that “we're very proud of the speed with which we've been able to move.” He also said “the HPN team have been great to work with.” 

Starting Sept. 15, an additional flight from BDA to HPN is scheduled to leave at 7:30 a.m. Bermuda time. The return flight to Bermuda will leave HPN at 8:29 a.m.

That will mean once daily service on Tuesday and Wednesday, and twice daily service on Monday and Thursday through Sunday.

Two Embraer E-175 jets with only 44 passenger seats will be flying initially. Starting Nov. 1, BermudAir will replace all seats with “All Aisle” premium seating that will offer just 30 premium seats in the Embraer jets.

Prices on the www.flybermudair.com website show one-way tickets each way between HPN and BDA during September and October range from $199 to $299. Starting Nov. 1, when the new seating is installed, prices skyrocket to $999 and more one way.

U.S. Customs and Immigration clearance will be at the Bermuda airport.

A detailed explanation of the BermudAir/Embraer product, and the history of its aircraft and business plans, can be found in the accompanying exclusive interview with BermudAir Founder/CEO Adam Scott.

BermudAir will also be flying non-stop to Boston’s Logan International Airport and the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.