Silverjet started its first flights to the USA in January

The firm, which currently flies from the Bedfordshire airport to Newark in the USA, said the Dubai service would begin in November.

Chief executive Lawrence Hunt said the service would be the first business class airline to fly to a non-transatlantic destination.

Silverjet is to begin a second daily service to Newark on 23 September.

The news of the Dubai service came as the company posted a pre-tax loss of �18.2m for the year to 31 March, including a �6.3m write-off from its acquisition of Flyjet and Skylease in October, after its decision to drop the charter operation.

Mr Hunt said the company was continuing to look for new routes and expects to achieve its first month of profit before the end of the current financial year.