All Business Class Graveyard - EOS v Maxjet v L'Avion v Silverjet
| All business class airlines came onto the travel scene in late 2005 with much fanfare promising passengers cut-price tickets with premium service. However it was not to be - high oil prices, the financial crisis and intense competition meant Maxjet, EOS and Silverjet fell by the wayside. French airline L'Avion has been gobbled up by British Airways... |
The following table provides an overview of the all business class carriers on the transatlantic routes:
|
| L'Avion |
| |
Started
Nov 2005 | Nov
2005 |
Jan 2007 (L'Av) Jun 2008 (OpenSkies) |
Jan 2007 |
Shut
Down On... 27th Apr 2008 |
24th Dec 2007 | Bought
by BA, integrated into OpenSkies |
30th May 2008 |
| USA | USA | France
/ US / UK | UK |
|
London STN to New York JFK | London
STN to New York JFK | Paris
ORL to New York EWR/JFK |
London LTN to New York EWR |
No
other routes | STN
to IAD / LAS / LAX | AMS
to JFK | LTN
to DXB |
| 22
x Weekly to NYC | 6
x Weekly to NYC | 18
x Weekly to NYC | 14
x Weekly to NYC |
| Boeing
757s | Boeing
767s | Boeing
757s | Boeing
767s |
| 48
seats 2-2 | 102
seats 2-2-2 | 90
seats 2-2 (L'Av) 64 seats 2-2 (OS) | 100
seats 2-2-2 |
| 78"
seat pitch (lie flat) | 60"
pitch | 48"
pitch (L'Avion) 52"-73" pitch (OS) |
75"
pitch (almost flat) |
| return
was from $2,350 / £1,171 | return
was from $1547 / £863 | return
is from... $1,400 / €1,000 | return
was from $1,955 / £999 |
Maxjet was the real budget option with special offer prices as low as £430 / $750 return and had spread its wings to also serve Washington IAD, Los Angeles LAX and Las Vegas LAS. However its service was not in the same league as EOS or Silverjet and technical problems with aircraft sometimes caused passengers severe delays. In the end the high oil prices, competition from an American Airlines Stansted - New York service and the financial crisis put an end to Maxjet. The Maxjet brand is still up for sale.
EOS Airlines was the most expensive / exclusive and targeted its product directly against British Airways First and Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class - but at a business class price. EOS had the most frequent schedule which was a big plus for business travellers. The company had plans to expand its route network with flights from Stansted to Newark and Dubai, as well as Paris to New York - this would have brought them head-to-head with both Silverjet and L'Avion. However a failure to obtain necessary financing resulted in the end of EOS.
Silverjet was reasonably priced and had an excellent product attracting a range of business passengers and premium leisure travellers. From a UK market perspective, Silverjet seemed to have the upper hand. Luton is London's quietest commercial airport and Silverjet had their own dedicated terminal. Silverjet's only operational drawback (like Maxjet) was any maintenance issues with the old aircraft caused timetable cancellations or delays.
Silverjet marketed themselves aggressively online, in the press and on TV. However lack of finance put an end to the airline, with the shareprice nose-diving before being suspended. Thousands of passengers were left stranded. Takeover talk remained but all 400 staff were made redundant in June 2008.
L'Avion had less frills than Silverjet and was more of a premium economy product with extra catering. Its was purchased by British Airways' OpenSkies and has been absorbed into that operation.
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