Silverjet plans to expand, keeps options open

NEW YORK – Silverjet PLC, while planning to cautiously expand from its London base, is in talks to replicate its all-business class model in other markets through franchise deals, the high-end airline's CEO said Thursday.

Chief Executive Lawrence Hunt also said the company has been approached by multiple potential buyers, although the private investment fund that recently injected much-needed cash into the UK carrier is not among them.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Hunt sought to distinguish Silverjet from former U.S. competitors MAXjet Airways Inc. and Eos Airlines Inc. The three airlines helped pioneer the all-business class jetliner model, but rivals' bankruptcy filings in recent months have left Silverjet as the only remaining luxury airline offering New York-to-London service.

Like mainline carriers such as AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and British Airways PLC, Silverjet continues to struggle with rapidly rising fuel costs, tightening credit markets and a slowing economy.

Late last month, Silverjet said it found an investor willing to pump up to $100 million into the cash-strapped carrier. The airline last week identified the investor as Viceroy Holdings LLC, a little-known firm based in New York and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Hunt said Viceroy, which injected an initial $25 million in exchange for a 28 percent stake in Silverjet, has not made an offer to buy the company outright. Other would-be suitors have expressed interest, however.

"We've not gone out and said we're for sale, but we have been approached by a number of companies," he said.

Hunt did not say how many offers are on the table, although he did acknowledge that discussions were ongoing.

"If they make what we think is a sensible offer ... we'll have to take it to shareholders," Hunt said.