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It looked like it might be the beginning of the end for Silverjet when they suspended share trading on the AIM last week after failing to receive funding they believed was coming their way. Even though the UK-based all-business class carrier insisted they would continue to fly, it seemed to many that Silverjet was headed down the same path as now defunct business class carriers eos and MaxJet.
Today, Joe Brancatelli of JoeSentMe confirmed that despite Silverjet’s optimism, the carrier has ceased flying. Joe also reports that Silverjet is still fighting to stay in commercial air travel, but as we’ve seen, commercial air travel has not been kind to business class carriers:
“Silverjet says it is trying to arrange alternate funding to resume operations, but, given the state of things with airlines, that looks extraordinarily doubtful. And, if you are keeping score, that means all three all-business-class airlines launched between the New York area and Greater London have now folded. Only L’Avion, which flies between Newark and Paris/Orly, remains in the all-business-class category.”
Rising fuel surcharges and increased airfare have sent many business travelers back to coach. This coupled with competition from larger carriers like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic has finally taken its toll on the New York to London niche all-business class market.
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