Bermuda Skyport Corporation started with a problem. That problem was Bermuda’s airport. It was nearly 70 years old and was susceptible to hurricane damage, leaks, termites, and rodents. It wasn’t the modern, luxurious location that Bermuda wanted its visitors to have as a first impression of the island.
But building a new airport costs between a quarter and half a billion dollars, and at the time the Bermudan government simply did not have the money for a project of that scale.
“We went around and made presentations and were connected with a company called the Aecon Group, one of the premier construction firms in Canada,” says Aaron Adderley, President of the Bermuda Skyport Corporation. “We partnered with them and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a quasi-public-private sector arm of the Canadian government looking for overseas opportunities.”
Between these two organisations and the Bermudan government, a business model was created to solve Bermuda’s problems. That plan became the Bermuda Skyport Corporation, a company operating under the Aecon Group umbrella that would oversee the development of a new terminal building and operate and maintain it for three decades.
That was six years ago.
In December 2020, the corporation completed work on a new terminal building. Of course, in many ways, the timing was not ideal.
“Opening up a new terminal flat in the middle of the pandemic was interesting!” Adderley shares. “On the one hand, it was a bit of a downer because people weren’t travelling. There were still lockdowns, and people were afraid of travel – let alone international travel. But the timing also brought benefits with it. It created a quiet environment for the new terminal to open up in, giving it space to iron out early kinks and get things up and running properly.”
It also meant Bermuda Skyport Corporation had the opportunity to deliver not only on time and to budget but also in line with Bermuda’s vision of itself.
A Treat for the Senses
To make a terminal worthy of Bermuda, Skyport crafted an experience that encompassed all five senses.
“We cultivated Skyport Radio, and it is probably the most eclectic mix of music you’ll find in any airport around the world,” Adderley says. “The point was to create something to make people walk through the terminal with a little pep in their step, playing their favourites but also our own.”
The sense of smell also got the luxury treatment, with Skyport collaborating with Bermuda Perfumery to design a unique scent for the terminal building. “We wanted to capture that sense of island vibe, something that is fun, but not tough on the senses,” says Adderley.
At the same time, Bermuda Skyport Corporation is also developing its offering, alongside its food and beverage partners, to treat passengers’ sense of taste.
But this multi-sensory luxury experience also packs a sixth sense the new terminal was designed to inspire.
“We also wanted to provide a sense of pride,” Adderley tells us. “Throughout the airport, we have stunning photography, images of everyday Bermudans by a young lady called Meredith. It’s all combined to create this special experience for passengers to walk through.”
Bermuda Skyport Corporation is looking to enhance that experience still further by investing in a customer experience accreditation program with ACI, the largest airport membership organisation in the world.
This is happening in parallel with long-term investment in the terminal’s IT solutions, finding ways to make passengers’ journeys even more seamless. It is a forever-evolving process.
“We have only been open for three years, but you can get old and stale very quickly, so we are constantly reinvesting,” Adderley points out.
New Offerings
Bermuda Skyport Corporation’s Offering goes still further, positioning its new terminal to revolutionise the aviation space, and maybe even Bermuda itself. Last year the company collaborated with partners in the private sector to launch BermudAir, a small boutique airline for high-yield business travellers that is expanding to serve the premium economy segment as well. But it is much more than that.
“What BermudAir represents is that for the first time, Bermuda has a home-based airline,” Adderley says excitedly. “That opens the door for us to pursue routes we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to, to new markets like Fort Lauderdale in Florida, creating competing options for customers out of South Florida.”
It gives Bermuda the capability to surgically insert competition into any existing routes that are lacking in terms of airfares or seat numbers.
“It is a game-changer for us,” Adderley says simply.
At the same time, Bermuda is one of the only markets outside of Canada and Ireland to introduce US pre-clearance.
“We built a modern US pre-clearance building that meets all the standards the US border protection wanted to see,” Adderley tells us. “Any US visitor coming to the island, or Bermudan travelling to the US, can arrive there pretty much as a domestic passenger. That’s wonderful.”
This benefit extends beyond direct passengers though. Through smaller airline partners, Bermuda Skyport Corporation is enabling passengers to arrive at Bermuda purely to access its pre-clearance service.
“We have just started some of those trial flights and I think it’s going to be a huge success,” says Adderley.
The model that Bermuda Skyport has established has proven its worth, and the corporation is already looking at ways to expand the model underneath the Aecon umbrella.
“We are looking to take the successful business model we have in Bermuda to other small island destinations who want to build something new but don’t have that flexibility in government financing,” Adderley explains.
But that does not mean the company is leaving Bermuda behind. Far from it.
“We have a responsibility to give back to our community, so we have a robust community investment program targeted at Bermuda’s young people,” says Adderly. “We invest $100,000 a year, with the goal of investing $3 million through sports, performing arts and youth betterment initiatives.”
Ultimately, this is what gets Adderley out of bed in the morning.
“It’s probably one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” he says. “Seeing that investment, year over year, and how it affects Bermuda’s young people.”
