london-dubai premium air traffic set for steep climb
Business Class Segment Touching 400,000 Passengers Annually but Figure Likely to Increase Quickly, Say Industry Sources
Nearly 400,000 people fly annually in business class cabins between London and Dubai, but that number is likely to increase dramatically as Dubai continues to position itself as a global commercial and tourism capital.
The market response to Silverjet, the region’s first all-business class airline offering a private jet experience scheduled to service the London-Dubai route, has already been exceptionally positive, according to the company’s senior management.
“Dubai has truly placed itself at the centre of the world’s aviation sector, and we believe Silverjet’s offering can contribute significantly to that ongoing success story,” said Katherine Gershon, Director of Sales and Marketing for Silverjet, the world’s only all-business airline to fly a non-transatlantic route when it begins its daily Dubai-London service on November 19.
“At Silverjet, we know that there is a rapidly expanding segment of both business and leisure travellers in London and Dubai who expect more of their airlines. They want luxury, affordability, convenience and hospitality, and increasingly, they have little tolerance for ever bigger airports, ever longer queues, and ever declining standards.”
The multi award-winning airline will be the only scheduled airline in the world to offer a private terminal experience at both ends of its service and will be the only commercial carrier to use the private Executive Terminal at Dubai International Airport. The airline has confirmed that its London-Dubai fares will be on average less than half the price of competitor fares.
Silverjet – which began its operations on 25 January 2007 and aims to offer its customers a private jet style experience at a fraction of the price – currently offers a twice-daily service between London and New York, and its London-Dubai service will operate daily from 19 November.
For its existing London-New York route, Silverjet said passenger numbers almost doubled in six months and increased by 38 per cent since September of this year. The airline’s revenue seats flown increased to 6,782 in October of this year, as opposed to 3,628 in May and 4,916 in September of this year. The airline was the first in history to reach 80 per cent load factors within 7 months of launch.
Silverjet's service from Dubai will launch on 19 November and will fly from the Executive Terminal at Dubai International Airport to its Private Terminal at London Luton Airport. It said it was encouraged by forward bookings and the travel trade reaction to the service in the UK and the United Arab Emirates.
Silverjet flights will depart Dubai daily at 1030 and arrive in London Luton Airport at 1445. Return flights depart from London Luton at 2100 and arrive in Dubai at 0830.
Connecting flights to New York Newark will also be available, departing London Luton Airport at 1645.
