A mixture of institutional and other investors have backed silverjet’s plans to operate twice-daily services between the two airports on Boeing 767s fitted with 100 inclined flat-bed seats at average fares of £999.

Silverjet's chief executive, Lawrence Hunt, says that business travellers want three main things: to get through the airport quickly, a flat bed seat and as low a fare as possible. “Getting through the airport at Heathrow and Gatwick is becoming increasingly difficult,” he says.

Hunt believes that flying from Luton is no disadvantage for an all-business service. “Three million business travellers already use Luton and 57 per cent of all private jets coming to London fly in and out of Luton,” he says. He adds that the airport has more people in a two-hour catchment area than any other London airport.

To keep fares low, silverjet plans to be ticketless, offer check-in by SMS and the web and will communicate with customers by email and text.

The company has reached an agreement with the airport to allow silverjet services to use the private aviation terminal, which will allow the latest check-in time to de 30 minutes before departure. Passengers arriving by train at Luton Airport Parkway will be offered free three-minute transfers to the terminal.

The airline has already identified 30 routes that would suit the airline’s business model and started the licensing process for three long-haul routes outside North America.

Explore Travel

• Travel News

• Where To Stay

• Your Say

• Business Travel

• Best of Britain

• Winter Sports

• Travel Images

Times recommends

• The Times travel photo competition
• 10 classic Paris travel ideas
• Airlines investigated over baggage check-in failures