Silverjet suspends operations

From the Silverjet website:

To our dear customers,

When our inaugural flight took off in January 2007, we pledged to change the face of air travel. Your appreciation of our unique values and your belief in our product has allowed us to achieve this.

Your belief in us was shared by our investors - but regrettably, due to unforeseen circumstances, they were unable to unlock the finance that we needed. As a result, we are very sad to announce that from 30 May 2008, we will cease operations and we are no longer able to honour flight reservations.

We extend our sincerest apologies to those of you who have travel plans with Silverjet in the future and at present. You are advised to seek alternative travel arrangements with other carriers, and contact your credit card company or travel agent directly for information on obtaining refunds.

We are working actively with new investors who are prepared to inject new funds so we can recommence operations. If we are able to achieve this, we will make an announcement as soon as possible and we hope to be able to bring you our very 'sivilised' flying experience again.

Thank you for your support - it has meant everything.

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence Hunt, CEO

OpenSkies gets OK to launch from Paris Orly-New York JFK

BA subsidiary gets the nod from UK and US authorities to launch flights and will codeshare with premium French airline L'Avion.

OpenSkies, the new BA subsidiary which plans to operate flights from Europe direct to the US, has received clearance from Britain's Civil Aviation Authority and the US Department of Transportation to take to the skies.

At the same time, the airline has announced that its first route will be from Orly airport in Paris to New York JFK and will be a codeshare with all business carrier L'Avion. The filghts will also carry British Airways' BA airline code as well as its own EC code.

In February, the airline originally said it would start its first flights from the French capital's Charles de Gaulle airport. Dale Moss, OpenSkies' managing director, said on the airline's blog today: "If you remember, we announced on February 21 that we planned to be flying from John F. Kennedy (JFK) to Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Even after that announcement we were working hard to obtain slots at our preferred airport, Orly. Just this week we got them through a codeshare agreement with L'Avion and made the switch."

A BA spokeswoman said that OpenSkies would seek deeper cooperation with L'Avion in the future.

Moss continued: 'We chose Orly because it is more conveniently located to the centre of Paris and offers faster access to and from the city than CDG. The distance from Orly to central Paris is roughly 19km or 12 miles, whereas the distance from CDG to central Paris is roughly 28km or 17 miles. Five miles can make all the difference—especially in rush hour."

The airline's planes will be refurbished 757s fitted with 82 seats in three classes: 24 flat bed seats in business class, 28 premium economy seats with a 52" seat pitch (larger than the existing World Traveller Plus) and 30 economy seats.

Source: travel.timesonline.co.uk

Lufthansa launches year-round Munich flights from Logan

German airline Lufthansa will expand its schedule between Boston's Logan International Airport and Munich from summer-only service to year-round flights.

Flights during the winter will operate beginning Oct. 26 by Lufthansa's Swiss partner, Privatair, on long-range A319 aircraft with 48 business-class seats. They'll run Wednesday through Monday. Lufthansa's daily summer service is on larger Airbus A340s.

"Securing year-round service to Munich has been one of our top route-development goals, and Massport worked closely with Lufthansa and Privatair to convince them of the strong corporate demand that exists in Boston for (it)," Massport Chief Executive Thomas Kinton Jr. said.

The total Boston-Munich air travel market is about 79,000 passengers a year, 13,000 of which are premium passengers.

Source: bostonherald.com

Eos Airlines files motion to sell company

Eos Airlines said on Friday it has asked a U.S. bankruptcy court to approve a schedule for the auction and sale of the company and its assets.

Eos, a business class New York-to-London carrier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 26, the latest airline to fail amid record fuel prices and a weakening U.S. economy. Six airlines have filed for bankruptcy in the past five months.

Eos said it hopes to sell its business to a party interested in restarting Eos as a going concern, or to sell all of Eos' most valuable assets to one or more purchasers.

Source: uk.reuters.com

Silverjet Summer Sale Fares

Silverjet Summer Sale fares. From now until 31 May 2008, return fares to New York and Dubai start at just £999 including taxes for travel between 14 May and 6 September 2008.

The sale ends on 31 May 2008. Terms and conditions apply.

Silverjet Summer Sale

Silverjet plans new hub in UAE

Silverjet said it is considering setting up a new hub in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi after receiving a $100 million cash injection from a UAE-based investor.

gulfnews.com