I originally booked Air Canada from Bermuda to Toronto. Air Canada changed the flight date to the next day, did not offer the option not to accept the date change, proved to be very difficult to reach but I eventually managed to cancel my flight and get a refund.
I booked Delta to Boston instead. This flight was expensive both in economy and business. The price difference between the two was not too big so I choose the latter.
Bermuda's airport is small and a bit old. It's easy to reach both by car and public bus and parking is not difficult.
A new airport is being built right next to it and seems to be almost completed.
The airport was almost completely deserted.
Priority check-in was available, although there were just two or three other passengers around so it didn't make any difference.
The check-in agent was very friendly like most people in Bermuda. I asked her what kind of catering I should expect in business class. She looked surprised when she answered: "Oh, we don't have any catering in business class!"
US Immigration pre-clearance was available in Bermuda which was a big plus. There was no waiting time. The agent asked me a few questions and I was through in maybe three minutes. Security was also quick.
There are only a few flights every day from Bermuda. Most of them are to the US or to Canada with only one flight to Europe - British Airways to London-Gatwick.
There's a cafeteria.
Apron view from the terminal.
I went to the lounge and I showed my boarding pass. The man working at the lounge was friendly but surprised. "Oh, we don't have any agreement with any of the airlines.". OK, so I booked a business class ticket to be told that no catering and no lounge access are included. I was eventually admitted to the lounge using my Priority Pass.
The lounge itself was nicely furnished in the style of an old Bermudan house.
A few drinks were available but there was no food except packed peanuts and two types of pastries that definitely didn't look or smell good.
I had a coke and some peanuts.
The big plus about Bermuda airport was that it was not crowded and there was basically zero waiting time at check-in, US Immigration pre-clearance and security, and also that everybody was friendly like everywhere in Bermuda.
The lounge was nicely furnished but there was very limited food and drink selection. Access was anyway not included, only Priority Pass or paid access ($30) were available. The real value of this lounge access was somewhere between $5 and $10.
Boarding started 45 minutes before scheduled departure. Priority boarding was available. The boarding agent was friendly and thanked all passengers for their business. Passports and boarding passes were checked again before reaching the plane.
I was welcomed at the door by a friendly cabin crew member.
Delta's A319 had three rows of business class in a 2+2 configuration with US Domestic First type seats. Legroom was average.
Load in business was 12/12 but economy seemed to be fairly empty with a load of maybe 20%.
A pillow, a blanket and water were waiting at the seat. The cabin crew came to me a minute after I boarded:
"Would you like a welcome drink?"
"Yes, thank you. What do you have?"
"Pretty much everything."
"Uh, OK, can I have some sparkling water?"
Headphones were offered, the ones you would expect in economy class on most other airlines.
Push-back was at 14.08 for a scheduled departure time of 14.30.
The current terminal building:
Beautiful views over Bermuda right after take-off.
There's an individual screen for every seat.
Information about our flight.
In-flight entertainment was very good with a selection of 99 different movies.
Drinks were offered 10 minutes after take-off. While pre-departure drinks were offered in a plastic cup after take-off drinks later during the flight were served in a proper glasses.
Bananas and packed snacks were offered in business class.
The crew member working in the business class cabin was very friendly during the entire flight.
We had some nice views as we were approaching Boston.
We landed in Boston at 15.17 for a scheduled arrival time of 15.57.
Taxiing to the gate.
Due to US Immigration pre-clearance in Bermuda our flight arrived to Boston as a domestic flight. I was landside literally two minutes after the plane's door opened.
This report reminded me of my similar experiences with DL to/from BDA
Unfortunately, DL and other US carriers consider Bermuda to be a "Caribbean" destination and therefore don't give lounge access despite it being an international flight. I remember arguing for an hour with a DL agent at the Sky Club in ATL that Bermuda was NOT in the Caribbean, but the middle of the Atlantic! I never understood why Mexico or Canada are "International" and eligible for lounge access but not the "Caribbean" --it's not like Caribbean destinations are cheap! Business class tickets on 2 hour flights from the East Coast to BDA and the Caribbean (except Bahamas) can often run well north of $1500 R/T. Meanwhile, Business class to MEX or Central America, destinations eligible for lounge access I regularly find for less than $800 R/T. Makes no sense to me. Ok Rant over, sorry!
Premium cabins are always full on short-haul flights on US carriers since Frequent Flyers receive free space-available upgrades in order of status
It's a shame there's no actual catering on this flight being that it's international and a little over 2 hours long. The ATL flights, just a little longer at 3h, get a meal service.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi KévinDC, thank you for your comment and explanations. I couldn't find much information about Delta's business class from Bermuda. As it was sold as international business class I expected a proper business class service so it was rather disappointing.