Silverjet looking at Heathrow for expansion
Silverjet may tie up with European carrier on Heathrow-New York flights.
Business airline Silverjet PLC may link up with a major European carrier to break into the lucrative London Heathrow-New York air travel market, according to a report.
Silverjet, which currently operates from Luton airport in Bedfordshire to Newark in the US, is understood to have consulted advisers about selling itself to flag carriers such as Deutsche Lufthansa AG or Air France-KLM, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
It is thought to be considering a tie-up with another, more established airline because it would need the prized take-off and landing slots that they hold at Heathrow.
'Their plan seems to be to enter into some kind of agreement, either a sale or joint venture, with an airline that has landing slots at Heathrow in order to operate business class-only flights from the airport,' the newspaper quoted an unidentified aviation industry source as saying.
The Telegraph also quoted an unnamed source close to Lufthansa as saying: 'A link-up with Silverjet or a similar airline is something I cannot rule out. The airline will look at this, but then they look at many things.'
The airline is thought likely to be able to undercut Virgin Atlantic and British Airways PLC from Heathrow despite the higher costs of operating from the London hub, if it can secure the slots, the report said.