Silver Airways places $1.1B aircraft order

Regional carrier looks to expand in Caribbean, southeastern U.S.

Regional airline Silver Airways of Fort Lauderdale, which focuses on Florida and the Bahamas, is looking to expand into the Caribbean and southeastern U.S. with a new fleet of planes at a cost of $1.1 billion.

On Tuesday, the company announced it had signed a letter of intent to upgrade and expand its fleet with up to 50 new Frenchmade aircraft that can carry 46 passengers each.

The new ATR-600 would replace the company’s existing fleet of 34-passenger Saab 340B turboprop aircraft over the next three years, Silver said in a news release. The airline currently operates an average of 125 daily flights to 10 Florida cities and eight destinations in the Bahamas, the majority from hubs in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.

Jason Bewley, Silver’s chief financial officer and its newly appointed president, called the move a “monumental leap forward.”

The new planes will enable Silver to expand its network “with greater reach, including farther into the Caribbean and the Southeastern United States,” Bewley said.

For travelers, the new planes would mean an upgraded flying experience and reliability. Silver’s new planes would feature wide cabins with slim lightweight seats, spacious overhead bins and full-size lavatories.

Additionally, Silver said it is exploring talks with San Juan, P.R.-based Seaborne Airlines for a “potential commercial cooperation” to further its long-term goal of becoming a major U.S. carrier.

Seaborne’s majority owner is private equity firm Versa Capital Management of Philadelphia. Last September, a Versa affiliate acquired a majority stake in