Luton Airport welcomes business class airline

A business class-only airline based at Luton Airport is ecstatic at takeup during its first month of operation.

Silverjet carries passengers between Luton and Newark Airport in New Jersey, US, and flew 2,911 people in its maiden month of February.

This meant the flights were already 45 per cent full of fare-paying travellers - who buy return tickets from £999 - and this is considerably ahead of projections.

Chief executive Lawrence Hunt is quoted by the BBC as saying: "Customer and industry feedback has been overwhelmingly positive."

Additionally, Silverjet has laid a claim to be the world's first carbon-neutral airline. It charges its customers a compulsory carbon offset payment when they make their bookings.

Other business-class airlines also fly to the US but primarily land at the John F Kennedy airport in New York. They tend to offer fewer flights than bigger carriers but often have interesting idiosyncracies - such as the ladies-only toilet featured by Silverjet.