Dropping Like Flies

Hot on the heels of Eos' demise, Silverjet, the last man standing, now stares into the abyss. Trading in the airline's shares were suspended on Friday as expected funding failed to materialise, putting the airline at risk of imminent collapse.

I never had the opportunity to fly Silverjet, but as the only all business class airline remaining, I probably would have tried them soon. The cabin does look pretty comfy, although not as luxurious as Eos.

More than actually flying them, I will miss them for the competition they provided to the major airlines, resulting in lower business class fares all around.

According to the Telegraph:

The world's last major business-class only airline, Silverjet, was teetering on the brink of collapse last night after a multi-million-pound cash injection from investors failed to materialise. . .

. . .Although Silverjet is continuing to operate its three daily flights, it said in a statement: "Working capital reserves are limited and advances under the loan facility are required as a matter of urgency."

Silverjet has been struggling financially for the a while now, and although airline management had lined up committed funding through a credit facility, when the time came for the investors to pay up, they responded with "the cheque's in the mail."

I think we all know this story will end. When this airline launched, oil cost about $50 a barrel; now it's over $130. Given the circumstances, it's hard to make the economics work.

I guess I had better get used to travelling with the great unwashed. After all, how horrible can it be?

A little more togetherness and economy class food really can't be all that bad. . .