Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) has announced it has selected ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) for its fleet renewal plans having also considered Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau). The Floridian carrier said in a statement it had now signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the acquisition of up to fifty new ATR-600 series aircraft.
The initial order is for twenty firm ATR42-600s which will be lease financed by Silver. As per the agreement, Silver also has the option to upgauge to larger ATR72-600s. Deliveries of the twenty turboprops will begin with four in the last quarter of the year with the entire order of twenty to be fulfilled by the first quarter of 2020. The new aircraft will replace Silver’s existing fleet of twenty-one Saab 340B Plus over time.
Having dropped its US Upper East Coast operations on the accession of Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management to its share capital last year, Silver Airways' route network now focuses on eighteen destinations in Florida and the Bahamas.
However, with the announcement of its fleet expansion plan, Silver Airways could see its reach extend into the Caribbean after it also confirmed negotiations with Puerto Rico-based Caribbean specialist Seaborne Airlines (BB, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin) concerning commercial cooperation that may include a tie-up. This, Silver Airways said, would support its long-term goal of becoming a major US airline.
"Seaborne’s experienced and dedicated employees, portfolio of markets, and business partnerships could help facilitate Silver’s route network’s expansion into a variety of highly attractive flight destinations," Silver Airways said.
Versa Capital is the largest creditor of Seaborne as well as its majority owner. Like Silver Airways, Seabourne Airlines operates Saab 340Bs albeit only eight and mixed with other types such as the DHC-6-300.
