Business-only carrier Silverjet says it is confident of finding the money it needs to carry on flying despite record fuel prices which have seen off countless small carriers ” including Eos on Sunday (27 April) - in recent months.
Quick to offer Eos passengers ”special” rates on its own flights following its bankruptcy filing, Silverjet CEO Lawrence Hunt said: "The airline industry is hugely competitive and this has been starkly illustrated by the [Eos] announcement. With our unique proposition and very reasonable prices, passengers can look forward to continuing to fly with Silverjet.”
Although the airline failed to reach its target of profitability last month, load factors looked healthy with a 23% growth in passenger numbers for March.
A spokeswoman told ABTN: ”The way we see it is that we have a distinct model we are following which is very different from other airlines going bankrupt. Clearly there is a comparison in what we want to achieve, but we have a private terminal [at Luton] and dedicated security and baggage handlers - Eos didn”t - so we remain confident.”
Speculation has swirled recently ” and the carrier”s weak and fragile share price risen a fraction ” regarding a potential takeover deal by carriers including Luton-based easyJet and Lufthansa, but it will be a bold move for anyone to enter the business-only niche where competitors have dropped like flies.
”We”re not shy of saying we”re looking for more investment ” you do need ongoing investments ” and yes, oil prices are rising and that is reflected in the market, but we”re very confident of getting more cash,” said the spokeswoman. ”We”ve got 50% leisure customers and 50% business so it”s a very healthy mix ” plus over 25% are repeat bookings now, so ours is a very stable and loyal customer base.”
Paris-based L”Avion is the only other remaining business-only carrier, and it released exceptionally strong first-quarter figures last week with an average load factor of 71% and 78% just for March. This equated to more than 13,000 passengers, two and half times more than it carried in the same period in 2007.
L”Avion managing director Marc Rochet said: ”These results confirm the development and strategy of L”Avion. This success confirms our innovative business model in a difficult economic world context.”
British Airways (BA) - also quick to offer help to Eos passengers ” is planning on starting business-only flights from London City to New York in 2009, but a spokesman told ABTN the flag-carrier has obvious advantages over those that have fallen.
”We have more liquidity ” and more efficient aircraft,” he said.
It ordered two Airbus A318 aircraft to operate the route - each to be fitted with 32 seats - and BA CEO Willie Walsh said when he announced the service: ”As well as the business market, we are confident that there will also be a demand from premium leisure customers for this service.
”The A318 is the perfect aircraft for these flights. It is large enough for us to provide the number of business class seats required to make this a viable operation.”