Every time most of us book a long-haul flight, we’re faced with an impossible
dilemma. Flying cattle class is increasingly degrading, but business class
is extortionate. What do we do?
Now, a new airline called Silverjet is promising to provide a solution, by
doing for business class what Ryanair and EasyJet have done for economy:
making it affordable.
On January 25, passengers on Silverjet’s inaugural flight to Newark, New York,
paid as little as £799 return (although the standard fare is £999). For
that, they got three inches more stretching-out-and-feeling-smug space than
in BA Club, for about half its lowest price. In fact, Silverjet’s standard
ticket is only £152 more than Virgin’s starting rates for premium economy,
with its miserly 38in seat pitch.
New York is just the start.
Silverjet’s global ambitions run to a network of 30 routes. Next year, it
hopes to launch to South Africa, India, the Caribbean and China, just in
time for the Olympics. It all sounds too good to be true and, as the only
travel writer invited on the first flight, I decided to risk the jet lag to
find out if it was.
Although Silverjet may be making headlines, it’s not the first carrier to
target the transatlantic business-class market. In the autumn of 2005, Eos
and Maxjet both began all-business flights from Stansted to JFK. I’ve
travelled with Eos and, in terms of luxury, it beats Silverjet hands down
(BA and Virgin too, for that matter) — but, charging from £1,700 to £3,200
return, it’s not exactly courting the budget-conscious traveller. Maxjet, on
the other hand, certainly ticks that box, with an £854 lead-in fare.
However, its service lacks the glamour you associate with this bracket of
travel. It’s closer to premium economy: seats have a 60in pitch, but they
only recline by an unsatisfactory 20 inches and have a depressingly
old-fashioned aura — not surprising given that they’re reconditioned
12-year-old Delta cast-offs. Aircraft technology has come a long way since
1995.
The airport experience, on the other hand, has deteriorated drastically during
that period — a fact that Silverjet has cleverly exploited by creating a
private terminal at its UK departure airport, Luton. Mmm, Luton... I
couldn’t point to it on a map, but I can assure you I found it only
marginally less convenient to reach than the other three — a negative that
is offset by the joy of Silverjet’s 30-minute check-in.
I arrived to find a hotel-style lobby in place of the traditional row of
desks. A friendly “concierge” took my passport and suggested I saunter
through to a chic, airy lounge, furnished with sink-in sofas and dominated
by a generous breakfast display that included a never-ending supply of Krug,
more than making up for the lack of duty-free shops. After a few minutes, my
new best friend found me to return my passport with boarding card.
Absolutely no queuing.
As Silverjet has its own security controls within the terminal, I could embark
at my leisure, again with no queuing. It was unbelievably civilised.
Ordinarily, you can’t put a price on happiness. In this instance, my husband
reckoned that not having to endure my customary airport whines (“Why’s she
only getting her passport out now she’s at the counter?” “If the bloke
behind bangs into me one more time...”) has to be worth a couple of hundred
quid.
All this is in stark contrast to Heathrow and Gatwick, where paying more is no
guarantee of escaping security hold-ups. At busy times, I’ve seen staff
siphon sections of the main lines through the fast-track lane. How priority
passengers must throw back their heads and laugh when a stag party is
ushered ahead of them.
The acid test, of course, is life on board. Silverjet’s decor isn’t as suave
as the muted blues and greys of BA and Eos, or as show-stopping as Virgin’s
purple palette — it’s that bog-standard, flecked economy interior — but its
pod seats have an impressively 21st-century gloss, with taupe upholstery, a
chocolate and caramel soft-leather surround and a futuristic metallic shell.
An idiot-proof panel offers upright, relax and sleep positions, with buttons
for finer adjustments and a massage option. At 23in across, it’s 4in wider
than Maxjet’s version and just one under Eos’s award-winning design, yet I
still felt cramped when watching a film on my table-top TV during lunch. The
cooked-to-order food, though, was tasty, and hot drinks are served in mugs
rather than the usual horrible little eyewash things.
At night, the seat extends to an inclined flat bed, as opposed to the fully
horizontal ones from BA, Eos and Virgin. I slept for five hours straight,
but other passengers complained of slipping down that eight-degree angle.
Silverjet claims it will address this concern, although I’m not sure how
economically viable that promise is. Any alteration is a hideously expensive
exercise. Take this example: one of the airline’s cute innovations is an
in-flight women-only lavatory. Silverjet wanted to put a vase of flowers in
there, but found that even this minor addition would require £12,000 worth
of health-and-safety tests. So the orchids are on hold until the company is
turning a profit.
How will it do that? Here’s the maths. Silverjet intends to sell most of the
100 seats on every 767 aircraft for £999. Its overheads are £65,000 per
return flight (£24,000 for fuel, £6,000 leasing costs, £8,000 for staff,
£4,000 for catering, plus maintenance, admin and so on); so, once the 66th
ticket is booked, it’s in the black. As Maxjet is practically always sold
out, I can’t imagine Silverjet having difficulty generating the necessary
income. Its product is infinitely superior to its slightly cheaper rival,
and not significantly behind the big-league players. Okay, there’s no goody
bag, a limited entertainment system, no frequent-flyer points and a thin
schedule, but those are small sacrifices in my book.
Service is also worth a mention. Staff on the American-owned Maxjet and Eos
can be intrusively overfamiliar; BA has too many Sharon Osbourne lookalikes,
whose surly attitude suggests they’re only working because of a
disappointing divorce settlement; and Virgin has more than its fair share of
glazed-eyed trolley dollies. Silverjet has deliberately recruited flight
attendants with hospitality rather than airline backgrounds. That decision
pays off, with a refreshingly sassy, bistro-sleek attitude from the crew.
Coming home, the indie band Kaiser Chiefs were across the aisle from me. I
asked frontman Ricky Wilson, winner of several style awards, for his opinion
of the newcomer.
“Business is a huge waste of money and this is much better than premium
economy. In fact, for the first time ever, I actually looked forward to a
flight. Silverjet is for real people.” Whether rock stars qualify as “real
people” is debatable, but that aside, Wilson is right. Here’s an airline
that treats passengers with respect — most of the others contemptuously
refer to customers as Self-Loading Freight. Silverjet’s deconstructed
club-class concept may make us SLFs question why we’re paying way over the
odds for comfort in the air. I predict a riot.
Susan d’Arcy was a guest of Silverjet and the Four Seasons New York (00 800
6488 6488, www.fourseasons.com), which has doubles from £345
Who’s offering what on the New York route
SILVERJET
Fares from: £999
Seat pitch: 75in
Seat recline: 6ft 3in flat bed
Dining: meals cooked to order and served individually (no trolleys)
Entertainment: 25 hours of movies and 16 hours of television on a 7in
table-top screen
Airports: Luton to Newark
Contact: 0871 700 8520, www.flysilverjet.com
BA CLUB WORLD
Fares from: £2,091
Seat pitch: 73in
Seat recline: 6ft flat bed
Dining: dishes have been devised by Michelin-starred chefs. Club
Kitchen allows for flexible dining
Entertainment: on-demand system, with more than 100 movies and
television programmes on 10in digital screens, as well as radio channels and
audio books
Airports:Heathrow to JFK and Newark; Manchester to JFK
Contact: 0870 850 9850, www.ba.com
BA WORLD TRAVELLER PLUS
Fares from: £825.80
Seat pitch:38in
Seat recline: 7in
Dining: as in economy
Entertainment: 12 audio, 16 games and 18 movie and television channels
on 8in seat-back screens
Airports: Heathrow to JFK and Newark; Manchester to JFK
Contact:0870 850 9850, www.ba.com
VIRGIN UPPER CLASS
Fares from: £2,192
Seat pitch 79½in
Seat recline: 6ft 7½in flat bed
Dining: “freedom meal service” where passengers can choose when to eat
Entertainment:300 hours of video on demand on 10.4in screens; in-flight
beauty treatments; on-board cocktail bar
Airports: Heathrow to JFK and Newark
Contact: 0870 190 9090 www.virgin-atlantic.com
VIRGIN PREMIUM ECONOMY
Fares from: £847
Seat pitch 38in
Seat recline: 8in
Dining: “different” from economy, served on crockery with metal cutlery
Entertainment: the V-port system offers 300 hours of video on demand,
plus up to 14 audio channels and up to 15 Nintendo games on 9in seat-back
screens
Airports: Heathrow to JFK and Newark
Contact: 0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com
EOS
Fares from: £1,700
Seat pitch: 87in
Seat recline: 6ft 6in flat bed
Dining: catering by DO & CO, an international gourmet company
Entertainment: table-top DVD players with Bose noise-cancelling
headphones, and a selection of movies and television programmes on 7in
table-top screens
Airports:Stansted to JFK
Contact: 0808 234 8548, www.eosairlines.com
MAXJET
Fares from: £854
Seat pitch: 60in
Seat recline: 20in
Dining: four-course meal with three gourmet entrée options served on
fine china, complimentary snacks
Entertainment: table-top “digEplayer” with 8in screen, loaded with 100
hours of movies, television programmes and music videos
Airports: Stansted to JFK
Contact: 0800 023 4300, www.maxjet.com
Aircraft age is not the same issue as it is with ground transport. They are required to be maintained under strict regulations, virtually anywhere in the world. As long as the interior Is refurbished, you would have a problem trying to determine the actual age of the aircraft. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have an enviable record for maintaining the safety and airworthiness of UK registered aircraft. Don't even worry about it.
Mike P Roberts, Andover, UK
I recently flew Silverjet and had a great flight and slept really well. Despite being far cheaper than Eos, I think Silverjet are doing an amazing job at the luxury level. If I was Richard Branson I wouldn't be sleeping so well!
Paul Cimino, London, UK
I am a wheelchair user and contacted Silverjet about access for me on the aircraft. Extremely positive response and I will be using them. It is alright people asking for flat beds, but Virgin's Upper Class is a disgrace for access for wheelchair users. They have fixed the ottoman into the floor to be used for the the flat bed, which makes it impossible for the on-board wheelchair to get close to transfer. Shame on Virgin and I look forward to Silverjet.
Ann Webster, Derby, UK
In your enthusiastic "Flight Test" of the new Silverjet business class service to New York, (Susan d'Arcy The Sunday Times Travel February 4, 2007) there is no mention of the age of the three aircraft in the Silverjet fleet. We agree this looks like a very exciting development, but some "webblogs" have suggested the planes are rather old; more than 20 years old in fact and may have served maintenance challenged schedules in exotic locations around the world ranging from Chile and Brazil to Madagascar and Cameroon.... Would you be able to enlighten us on the age of the Silverjet fleet and do you think it matters?
Asb Gylenstn, UAE,
I read with delight Susan d'Arcy's honest reporting on the new cut price club class airlines. I too have just flown with EOS (excellent) and Silverjet (disappointing). I also just took a flight in Virgin Upper Class to Tokyo (cramped). But my real anger is with Silverjet claiming to have 'Award Winning 6' 3" Flat Beds plus loads of leg room'. On this basis alone I booked my flights with them, and I now feel cheated. On both journeys I could not sleep due to being on a strangely angled bed which you keep slipping down - and my legs are still in pain due to feeling cramped and forced to lie at such an odd steep incline.
I only require one thing from a long haul flight - a FLAT bed - so could Silverjet try and be a little more honest with their advertising campaigns?
Simon Easton, By email,