Silverjet, the first British exclusively business class airline, announced that it will offer cargo services on the daily scheduled service between London and New York.

Silverjet, which launched in January 2007, is the world's first carbon neutral airline and as such the extra fuel burn required to transport cargo will be factored into the equation and the price to offset the carbon will be included in the cost.

Silverjet's Boeing 767 daily flight between London Luton (LTN) and New York Newark (EWR) now offers 10 tons of payload outbound to the USA and 15 tons inbound, a longer runway at EWR and shorter flying time affords a higher take off weight. The cargo capacity will be managed by Silverjet Cargo a commercial partnership between Silverjet plc and Silverjet Cargo Ltd.

Silverjet Cargo has appointed General Sales Agents (GSAs) in both UK and USA; Platinum Air Cargo in the USA and CargoOne in the UK. The GSAs plan to fill the aircraft with general air cargo, consumer goods, electronics and excess luggage, as well as more unusual cargo such as, perishables and high value goods; agreements have already been reached with a number of high profile bands and film production companies to carry their equipment.

Silverjet Cargo can accept shipments from London Heathrow (LHR) and New York (JFK) as well as LTN and EWR and have established trucking contracts with Platinum, their GSA in the USA and with LHR based WFS (Worldwide Flights Services) in the UK. EWR offers state of the art perishables facilities and at LTN, ramp services from Servisair and cargo handling from Luton Cargo mean that perishables such as flowers and vegetables can be handled with ease.

Lawrence Hunt, Chief Executive of Silverjet said: 'We are delighted to now offer cargo capacity, a vital part of our ongoing business strategy. We have established cargo handling services at Heathrow and Luton airports in the UK and Newark and JFK airports in the USA with a dedicated intra airport trucking service to ensure a seamless service at whichever airport our customers wish to use. As the world's first carbon neutral airline, Silverjet are particularly keen to welcome customers who are looking to be more environmentally responsible with their supply chain and/or their travel plans across the Atlantic.

Michael Meagher, Managing Director of Silverjet Cargo said: 'With dedicated cargo capacity on the aircraft and utilizing the professional services of GSAs and handling agents in the UK and USA I believe we can offer a high quality service to the market. The fleet expansion plans of Silverjet over the next couple of years will allow us to offer more destinations providing a valuable stream of revenue to the airline. Silverjet's immediate plans include the delivery of a second aircraft in June and a third in November 2007; the entire fleet will offer the same potential for cargo and we plan to exploit it fully.'