silverjet

Silverjet Permanently Grounded

Filed under: Wings

Looks like those reports of Silverjet's resurgence were a false alarm. The Telegraph spoke with chief executive Lawrence Hunt who said the business-class-only airline is permanently grounded. There had been hopes that the company Kingplace would be able to bail out Silverjet but they were not able to raise sufficient cash to meet the capital requirements from the Civil Aviation Authority. After that we heard that Middle East carrier Arabjet might take over but Hunt calls them "timewasters" who were not even able to " raise the £125,000 needed to secure negotiations with the administrators." It looks like Silverjet will not be sold off as a going concern but will likely be dismantled with the assets sold off piece by piece.

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Tags: airline, business class, silverjet

Silverjet May Soon Fly Again

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We thought they were out when they shut down in May but business-class-only airline, Silverjet might be back in the skies soon. Kingplace, an Irish off-the-shelf company backed by Geneva-based Heritage Cie, has inked a deal with Silverjet's administrators, Begbies Traynor. Silverjet plans to relaunch flights to New York and Dubai from London as soon as possible. The company plans to take on all of the existing staff, honor Silverjet's existing customers' tickets and put planes back in service in a few weeks.

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Tags: airline, business class flight, BusinessClassFlight, silverjet

Silverjet Closes Up Shop

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

In a move that surprises no one given the recent shuttering of business-class-only jet services MaxJet Airways and Eos Airlines, Silverjet, the last of the three, has folded. The London-based company failed to get a necessary $5 million in emergency funding to continue operations. The rise in the price of jet fuel doomed the business which was never profitable in its 16-month run. Lawrence Hunt, the chief executive of Silverjet, says on the Silverjet website that it might not be over yet, if he is able to get new investors with deep pockets the company will start up again. Unfortunately given the track record of business-class-only airlines, which despite the obvious appeal, seemed doomed to failure, he will have a tough road ahead.

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Tags: business, eos, jet, maxjet, plane, silverjet

Eos Airlines Files For Bankruptcy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

When MAXJet, one of the airlines doing the London to New York business class flights folded last December I wondered who might be next. Now it seems that the answer is Eos Airlines. The NY Times reports that the company has stopped flights and filed for bankruptcy protection. When MAXJet stopped operations it was Eos that picked up their stranded passengers. Eos ran their final flights on Sunday.

In February, British Airways announced a new business-class service from London to New York. The airline has two Airbus A318 to service the new route, fitting them with lie flat beds for 31 passengers. They will likely be competing against Silverjet, the remaining small carrier doing business flights from London to New York. Eos had offered flights on Boeing 757s reconfigured with 48 seats that turned into flat beds. The flights offered gourmet foods and wines and individual DVD players at the seats for prices ranging from $3,500 to $9,000 roundtrip. The airline was a success but was simply not making enough money and failed to raise a necessary $50 million additional financing to help pay debts.

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Tags: airline, business jet, eos, plane, silverjet

Silverjet Promises Carbon Neutral Flight

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Our friends over at Helium Report got me thinking about carbon neutral flight recently and so I found the news that SIlverjet promises to be the first carbon netural airline particularly interesting. What does it mean to be carbon neutral? Basically it means that all of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions used are offset. Silverjet includes within ticket prices a mandatory carbon offset contribution. I first heard of Silverjet last April and they are launching their first trans-Atlantic flight on January 25. Silverjet, which specializes in the London to New York hop, offers a private terminal experience that lets you arrive for your flight 30 minutes before departure. The flights also come with flat bed seats and there is also a women's only toilet. Prices start at $1,798.

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Tags: carbon neutral, eco-friendly, environment, flight, london, new york, silverjet

Silverjet, Another London to New York Flight Option

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The already competitive London to New York flight market is about to get a bit tighter. We've already covered Eos and MAXjet which both offer the same route. Silverjet Limited will offer low fare, all business class flights. CNN reports that Silverjet is currently raising money to get on London's Alternative Investment Market in May. They expect to start business class service from Luton to Newark within six to nine months after getting on the market. They eventually plan to run ten aircraft to a variety of destinations. Like MAXjet, Silverjet will offer around 100 seats which are flatbeds. The average roundtrip is expected to be $1,700.

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Tags: airline, airline industry, aviation, business class, eos, flight, london, maxjet, new york, planes, silverjet