London Luton? Well, I”d take issue with the London bit.
Luton”s further out than you think and it pays to pick the right train or like me, you”ll trundle slowly up to Bedfordshire sat there looking at your watch.
Depending on fare status of course, Silverjet will lay on a limo to the airport and this would clearly be the most civilised way to arrive. By train, the visitor arrives at Luton Airport Parkway and, regardless of fare paid, can use a free taxi service, clearly identified with Silverjet emblazoned over the vehicle.
It”s then just a five minute hop to Silverjet”s sparkling and dedicated terminal at the airport. Friendly staff - a real hallmark of the airline - greet passengers at the door before issuing them with a silver card.
This allows customers to proceed straight into the lounge while the luggage is weighed and tagged. Members of staff routinely walk around the lounge, looking for silver cards and they check you in and issue boarding cards, all while you are still seated. The only small quibble is that I thought the terminals dotted around the lounge were for passenger use. They”re not? It”s for the check-in staff to assign seats.
Despite being fiercely hot while I was there, the lounge is nonetheless an oasis of calm compared to the frenetic low-cost bustle just across the road in the main terminal.
Peaceful, muted colours, yes with a lot of silver, are everywhere, as is some interesting aviation memorabilia including a silver table fashioned from what appears to be an aircraft wing.
And the food selection is surprisingly good. Most business class lounges offer a mediocre selection of nibbles and drinks, but Silverjet has really thought about this. It doesn”t provide a la carte dining, but the hot and cold selection is far more generous than most business lounge offers and is constantly replenished.
If you”re in the mood, Champagne is on tap, while a large and silent plasma screen showing Sky News provides an unobtrusive backdrop.
For those needing currency exchange or a last-minute book purchase, it”s a quick dash across to the main terminal - which serves to act as a reminder of how I normally travel - and then back into the comfort of the lounge.
Boarding for the 21:00 departure to Dubai was by the dreaded remote bus, around a five minute trundle around Luton Airport and then onto the Boeing 767. Interestingly, parked next to our aircraft was another of the fleet with the handy registration ” G-SVLR.
First impressions? Well, it”s undoubtedly spacious and again, calm, soothing colours add to a sense of serenity. And those decent load factors so widely reported in February seem to be stacking up. It was around 70% full on my Friday night service. Legroom is generous, but my one reservation would be seat width. It”s not overly ample but I managed to secure a double seat in the middle row. It would have been a little cosy otherwise.
A basic amenity kit is provided, in a silver pouch of Course, and although I couldn”t see an in-flight Silverjet magazine, there are others available in racks. A pre-take off drink - either Champagne or orange juice is handed out and after take-off - relatively quick given the lightness of the load - staff distributed in-flight menus and headsets.
And those staff. I think this is what really makes Silverjet tick. They could not be more attentive, pleasant or helpful. Adopting the classic, crouching down approach to address passengers, nothing is too much trouble and they even bother to find out your name.
The overnight flight menu was a choice of three meals, no starter interestingly, presumably to speed the process before sleep, but I chose Lancashire hotpot, followed by cheese and pudding.
Arrival in Dubai is preceded by a small breakfast that can either be consumed on the spot or taken away in a bag.
What is perhaps an issue is the entertainment on offer. Passengers are provided with a small, portable player that offers films and music, but not much else. There didn”t appear to be a map tracking option and frankly, the film selection was limited.
It is a sign I suppose, of just how far in-flight entertainment has progressed, but passengers now expect a raft of options. However, the music video selection was excellent and catered exactly to my mid-80s taste.
Silverjet does not provide quite the full lie-flat experience either, although in fairness, it”s almost flat, but not completely, as your legs point down at a shallow angle. However, it”s perfectly possible to have some decent kip and grab a few hours rest before the seven hour flight ends.
Another dreaded remote bus transfer at Dubai - the new six-runway behemoth being built in the desert should alleviate this - and into Silverjet”s arrival terminal, where flags and bustling officials indicate this is very much the VIP end of things.
The terminal is again a class act. Big comfy sofas, cool wooden floors and a selection of food and drink all help pass the time while staff take passports to be stamped. And, just as an added bonus, the lounge is situated at the exact rotation point for the endless stream of Emirates Airbus A330 and 777s that power down the sun-soaked runways. A sight not to be missed.
On the return leg ” departure at 10:30 ” the lounge suddenly became extremely crowded for an unexplained reason. No silver cards here, with the result that staff take everyone”s passports before checking all passengers in and then rather bizarrely calling all the names out for the documents to be collected, reminding me of a school roll call.
Would I recommend Silverjet? Yes, unequivocally. The absence of fully lie-flat beds could be an issue for very long-haul flights but at seven hours to New York and Dubai, that really isn”t much of a problem.
The film selection could be improved, but the sheer, superb friendliness of the staff and their attentiveness more than make up for it. And where else can you find business class at that fare?
Simon Warburton
Editor - ABTN