Travel management companies are losing potential sales by failing to capitalise on this week’s launch of low-cost business-class airline Silverjet, says founder Lawrence Hunt.
The airline’s inaugural flight to New York from a private terminal at Luton Airport was due to take place yesterday, January 25.
Chief executive Lawrence Hunt said the airline had sold “a few thousand seats” prior to launch – about half of these through the trade. Meanwhile, three online travel agencies are about to go live with Silverjet’s product.
The company has been taking between 30 and 40 bookings a day direct from consumers, which could instead be coming through travel management companies, he said.
“We are getting a lot of direct business. We would much rather be approached through the TMCs, but they are not moving fast enough.”
He admitted bookings were likely to be in “small numbers” until the airline’s launch on Thursday.
“Few people will book with an airline that hasn’t launched, but if we don’t sell tickets we won’t make it. However, the signs are we will do okay. We’re ahead of where we thought we’d be in terms of bookings.”
Most trade bookings are through tie-ups with tour operators selling flights as part of tailor-made packages. Partners include Airline Network, Kuoni and Tradewinds. It is also working with Travel Counsellors and Voyana.
“My plan is to be trade- friendly as long as it’s cost effective,” added Hunt, who said it will take 18 months for the airline to become profitable. “We only need 20,000 bookings to make £5 million profit per aircraft.”
The airline takes delivery of a second aircraft at the end of this month, with another to be delivered in October, and a further two in March 2008.
It plans to have 10 aircraft by the end of 2009 on four routes. India, China, the Middle East, South Africa and the Caribbean are under consideration.