Silverjet Share Discussion Threads

[wiganer] 01/6/2008 08:54

We agree on summat, MT.

Management bleating is absurd- the analysts didn't create the business model.

[m.t.glass] 01/6/2008 08:30

"..the fact is neither myself, Mr Hunt and many other investors could have foreseen the rise in the price of oil over the past 12 months and that is ultimately what sent them under.."


Oh, come on stluke! A litle humble honesty wouldn't go amiss now. Even during the last 3 months of it, and even in the last few weeks of it, when the oil price story was already fully evident and so clearly doing damage, you were STILL putting a positive gloss on this company's prospects. Nothing to do with relying on foresight.

And Mr Hunt was this weekend still claiming it wasn't the oil price wot did for his airline - it was nasty analysts.

A lack of honesty all round in some quarters.

[jonc] 01/6/2008 00:48

All those bloomin pies.

No wonder the fuel bill was too high.

[slapdash] 31/5/2008 18:02

Silverjet and all the other executive airlines made a number of errors in their calculations

- Their premise is that the business passengers are the most profitable and so why not only fly these.

However, this apparent logic has a number of flaws:

- A business class only airline has less diversification so that in a downturn the business people stay away and those that do fly may downgrade to economy. Thus this is much more cyclical and open to collapse then a diversified airline which flies all passengers or just the lower end. So in a severe downturn business passengers might be down 40% - any business only airline can just go bust.

- A small airline inevitably suffers from a lack of liquidity for passengers with regards to plane numbers. So for British Airways I could book a flight to New York and possibly change the flight coming back for one earlier or later in the day. Or when booking I can book for any time I want whereas Silverjet and all the others will have limited service. This is due to the amount of flights the bigger airlines do.

- Also the bigger planes can offer a more luxurious first class due to their larger size and larger food storage, food preparation areas etc. So inherently the product of first class with the bigger airlines is better. For example, Virgin used to do massages and other things like that. Essentially Silver jet and all the others are largely just a ryanair with more legroom and better food.

- These new airlines didn't operate from Heathrow or London City which meant leaving from a hard to access airport and also most first class people will be from West London and often work in the city. So Heathrow and London City are the best airports.

Hence the model for these companies was fundamentally wrong and their failure had little to do with the oil price allthough this made it happen sooner.

In short if you are trying to sell a top-end product you have to be offering a top end product and these companies simply weren't doing that due to location and depth of first class offering. They said that their first class was much cheaper but for their user it isn't about price but product and they simply never had the product to go against say Britsh airways' first class or that of Virgin.

Slapper

[wiganer] 31/5/2008 17:46

Especially with all ye food and drink being free!

[ivor whopper] 31/5/2008 17:45

But Im sorry anyone had to lose on this.
It was a brave company with good ideas.

[ivor whopper] 31/5/2008 17:44

the rise in oil wasnt exactly sudden old bean

[hammy_davies_snr] 31/5/2008 17:37

No wonder they went into administration then!!

[hammy_davies_snr] 31/5/2008 17:25

Cleveland steamer of a company

[wiganer] 31/5/2008 17:21

Who could have predicted an outcome like ?

I mean it's not like the chart was suggesting anything, was it?....

[jonc] 31/5/2008 17:18

I predict that ye olde charte will be stable for quite some time.

[lbo] 31/5/2008 11:25

What happened to stluke? He must have lost a fortune on this dog! Why do some people never listen?

[2020hindsight] 31/5/2008 09:34

How ? If they have no money there's not a lot they can do. I'm not saying it's right, that's just how it is when firms go bust. Other airlines have helped - for example Emirates brought the stranded plane crew back from Dubai.

[ivor whopper] 31/5/2008 09:07

jeez they could at least arrange to get stranded passengers home.

[stevenparsons] 31/5/2008 07:42

Last one out turn the lights off

[whiteboard] 30/5/2008 16:33

Further to the announcement earlier today that Silverjet had suspended its operations, the Board of Silverjet announces with deep regret that it has appointed administrators. Nigel Atkinson from Begbies Traynor has been appointed lead administrator of Silverjet and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Silverjet Aviation Limited, Skylease Limited and Sky People Limited.

The administrator will be undertaking a review of Silverjet's assets. The Board does not believe that there is likely to be any value realised for shareholders.

Advice for customers

Customers who have booked by credit card are advised to contact the credit card company from whom they should be able to obtain a refund.

Customers who have paid by debit card or charge card should refer to the consumer protection section of the Civil Aviation Authority website, www.caa.co.uk.

Customers who have booked through a travel agent or shipping company should contact them for assistance.

Other airlines are not under any obligation to honour your unused Silverjet tickets, however, as a courtesy, some airlines may agree to get you home using their flights on a basis specified to them.

Further information for customers is available on Silverjet's website, www.flysilverjet.com.

Lawrence Hunt, former Chief Executive Officer of Silverjet, said:

"It is with deep sadness that I make this announcement today. The Silverjet team has worked exceptionally hard to try and turn this situation around, however with the time available, we were unable to secure the funding required to continue our operations.

"We have achieved a tremendous amount since we starting flying in January last year, both in terms of growing our passenger numbers every month and the industry recognition and awards which we have received. I would like to thank all our customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders for their support of Silverjet."

[roidstermuthafukk] 30/5/2008 14:19

nearly invested at 16p.....thought they were a bargain recovery play..glad oh glad I did not! RIP SIL

[aim_trader] 30/5/2008 12:38

I flew with SIL two weeks ago and was very impressed.

It is a real shame to see them go, though has been inevitable for a while.

The plane was less than half full and I paid £850 for a return flight to New York.

[remynapoleon] 30/5/2008 11:06

What a shame.

A great product with so much potential that was subject to undercapitalisation and the oil price rise.

There is a large market for this kind of airline and someone will pick up the aircraft, facilities and landing slots for a song.

Unfortunately, as is the norm the shareholders lose out.

remynapoleon