our Silverjet experience

[lucky white heather]

Just got home yesterday from a Transatlantic crossing on QM2( Southampton to New York ) with an immediate return to the UK on Silverjet's service to Luton from Newark.

 

We were at Silverjet's lounge area long before the time it should have been open. The tour operator arranged our bus transfer from the ship to so there was no personal control over our arrival time at the airport.This unexpected arrival of a group could have phased the Silverjet ground staff but it seemed part of the Silverjet "ambiance" that they took it in their stride.Technically we could have been refused entry since the lounge opening time was given as three hours before our flight left and we were far too early . Some PAX deposited luggage into their care and left to go elsewhere, but we took advantage of their inlounge facilities which were excellent.They tagged the luggage etc, took our passports and organised the boarding passes so we could just sit there and read the papers and relax. All in all ,the whole service was more than we had expected.All the staff were efficient, very accommodating , and friendly.

Boarding was a "dawdle" when the gate number was announced..we made our way there and walked aboard.Having already done online seat selection, it was extremely easy to find your allocated very spacious seat. We were impressed by the onboard settling in service from efficient staff and after a fairly long queue for take off we flew off.

The meal seemed to be individually prepared from a choice by menu but the preparatory "set up" was... white cloth cover for your in-armrest tray, a couple of sets of substantial utensils, water glass and wine glass (with choice of several wines available) and individual service of your main course in turn.

Your TV was a small quality unit with comfortable headset so you could while away the time pausing your chosen film etc as/when necessary, for example , on arrival of your menu(main course, small dessert etc etc ) .

The window shades were all already closed , so your individual flexible neck light was your light source to eat by.

After the meal was cleared most people settled into having a sleep.There was one specific toilet booth for ladies only, as well as general use cubicles.

Your seat slid to allow you to lie almost completely flat and despite being not overly tired to start with and thinking I might not be able to make full use of this opportunity to sleep , I was wakened by the announcement that we were landing in half an hour.... so a rush for toileting/freshening up and a quick drink of tea all occurred almost simultaneously.

The Silverjet buses (2) waited for us to debark and took a short minute to arrive at the airport itself. We took advantage of the Silverjet lounge there before connecting to our homeward flight to Scotland later that morning..it featured showers if you wished to use them, and similar snacks/ drinks on tap.

 

All in all, a very civilised way to cross from the States to UK without enduring long queues for entry at LHR even if you have a UK passport.I did not see any US or other nationality PAX at passport control having to wait for entry but cannot say for definite it never happened.

We have never experienced business or first class air travel before so some of this information may be nothing new for many, but I think if I had to comment on Silverjet's service...I had nothing to complain about and felt the company should be commended for what they have achieved...a very good and efficient service and very good value for money.

If anyone wants more specific information I monitor the boards regularly and would be willing to try to offer further opinion / information if possible .

[Globaliser]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reporting back. That's all very good to hear.

[lucky white heather]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reporting back. That's all very good to hear.

 

As you may recall Globaliser, you personally have helped me out with information I required instantly , several times on these boards in the past and for which I have indeed been extremely grateful.

If I can therefore "pay back" this wonderful assistance /support to all others who use these boards for help /information I am delighted to do so.

[banditcat]

Thank you for the review. It is good to know about this service.

 

Hannah

[Missybud]

lwh,

 

A big thankyou for reporting back! I am most interested in using Silverjet for our TA next October. To me the few extra $'s offsets the hassel of standing in lines for hours. Now to convince my Roomie. We will be flying out of EWR as this is her home airport.

 

Do you, Globalizer, TravelTalk have any information regarding transfers to LGW from LTN? Such as type, price, ease. We would like to stay overnight at LGW and do a quick look of London with flying out the next morning to Venice. Whew, I get tired thinking about this!

 

Again, thanks. Lana

[Globaliser]

If I can therefore "pay back" this wonderful assistance /support to all others who use these boards for help /information I am delighted to do so.

That's the great thing about these boards - thanks again!

Do you, Globalizer, TravelTalk have any information regarding transfers to LGW from LTN? Such as type, price, ease. We would like to stay overnight at LGW and do a quick look of London with flying out the next morning to Venice.

The two aims are, to a large extent, inconsistent with each other. Gatwick is roughly as far from London as Luton, but on the diametrically-opposite side of the city.

 

If you want to see some of London, go to London and stay there, and then go to Gatwick the following morning.

 

If you want to go straight to Gatwick from Luton, you may then think it's more hassle than it's worth to go straight back again in the direction from which you came in order to get back to London. It's feasible, but just a waste of quite a lot of time and energy.

 

To get from Luton to Gatwick, one of the easiest things to do is to take the First Capital Connect train direct from Luton Airport Parkway to Gatwick Airport. I think that there is a short shuttle bus ride from the airport terminal at Luton to the railway station - see this page. During the day, the train runs once every 15 minutes and takes 80 minutes to Gatwick. Peak hour schedules are different. See the train operator's website for timetables. The one-way fare is currently about £23.

[Missybud]

Globaliser, thankyou for the info and advice! Lana

[SandyR5]

Yvonne - Thanks for posting this thread. You are absolutely right saying it was a very civilized way to travel.

[excitedofharpenden]

lucky white heather, thanks for the information on your Silverjet experience. I know it's probably just a distant memory for you now (!), but it was a good read. I've booked to fly back from NYC on Silverjet in September and am looking forward to seeing what it's like. Arrival at Luton will be very convenient for me.

 

And I'll echo your comments about Globaliser. Always a mine of information. Thanks for your continued input.

 

Phil

[fbgd]

I've heard many good things about Silverjet and I know someone who uses them for all his NYC travel now. He raves about them.

 

As an FYI you can avoid a lot of the queues for immigration at London airports by signing up for IRIS. It is free and saves a lot of time. Do a quick Google search for more info.

[wench25]

I get their newsletter - but unless I win the lotto or they have a "poor" woman's package - I don't think I'll ever be able to fly them...they are just a bit out of my budget :eek:

 

Nice to see that they are as good in real life as they look on "paper" .... :D

[Globaliser]

... they are just a bit out of my budget

There are sales from time to time - at the moment there's an ex-UK sale - both New York and Dubai available for £879 return, including all fees and taxes; and an ex-US sale to London for $1,759 return, including all fees and taxes.

[excitedofharpenden]

I've heard many good things about Silverjet and I know someone who uses them for all his NYC travel now. He raves about them.

 

As an FYI you can avoid a lot of the queues for immigration at London airports by signing up for IRIS. It is free and saves a lot of time. Do a quick Google search for more info.

fbgd, thanks for that information too. I may well give the IRIS thing a go when I'm flying out of Heathrow in May.

 

Phil

[Catnip]

Yes, thank you indeed for reporting this! I just booked Silver Jet for my flight back to the US after my QE 2 crossing in October. My travel agent suggested it (thanks, Rich!) and the price was hard to beat. I checked on Business Class on British Air & Virgin and they were all a lot higher.

We are using their car service from our London hotel to Luton.

I am really looking forward to Silver Jet!