NEW low-fare all-business-class airline Silverjet is in talks to set up a Silverjet Holidays tour operation as a joint venture.
Chief executive Lawrence Hunt has met the Civil Aviation Authority with a view to set up a tour operator with an ATOL of a “significant size” using Silverjet’s flights.
“It’s a big opportunity to offer leisure breaks to New York, flydrives and cruise holidays. We would work with the trade and we are in discussions with partners as it might be a joint venture,” he said.
Seats are due to go on sale in September for Silverjet’s December launch of twice-daily flights between Luton’s private jet terminal and New York’s Newark airport. Competing against MAXjet and Eos, it will offer 100 flatbed seats. Fares will start from £999.
Hunt said the airline aimed to offer the best service from the customer’s door. “This is not just about the best bed in the sky, it’s about worrying about the customer from when they book,” he said.
Already the company is in negotiations to offer eight-minute helicopter transfers from Manhattan to Newark for around £100. Chauffeured transfers will be offered and 30-minute check-in times are targeted.
The airline – which plans three further routes outside the US – hopes to offer the chance to pre-order food and films.
It will court the trade for a “large proportion” of bookings, including leisure passengers. Deals will be hammered out in the next two months.
The airline is recruiting 100 cabin crew and two on-the-road sales executives. New head of operation for the US Andria Piekarz is recruiting a team to work in the airline’s New York offices.
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