Silverjet today ceased operations after a year and a half of service, joining its two fallen all-business-class peers on the New York-London route, Eos and Maxjet, which stopped service last month and December 2007, respectively.
In a letter on its Web site today, Silverjet CEO Lawrence Hunt said the carrier "was unable to unlock the finance that we needed," but held out hope for new investors and, perhaps, a relaunch. "We are working actively with new investors who are prepared to inject new funds so we can recommence operations," Hunt said. "If we are able to achieve this, we will make an announcement as soon as possible."
In the meantime, Hunt encouraged Silverjet ticket holders "to seek alternative travel arrangements with other carriers, and contact your credit card company or travel agent directly for information on obtaining refunds."
Silverjet earlier this month maintained that it was well capitalized to weather the difficult operating environment, as it had secured a $25 million cash injection from United Arab Emirates-based Viceroy Holdings. The investment firm said it could invest up to an additional $75 million to aid in launching Silverjet in new Middle Eastern markets to supplement its London-Dubai route
(BTNonline, May 12).
Silverjet launched service between the New York City-area Newark airport and London Luton airport in January 2007, adopting a similar model as New York-London competitors Eos and Maxjet. Now, all carriers have ceased operations in the span of half a year in an environment of insurmountable fuel costs and dried up capital.