Business class airline

A business class airline was an airline concept which emerged during the mid-first decade of the 21st century involving a number of airlines that operated all-business class service.[1]

Dedicated business class airlines

The most prominent such airlines have been Eos Airlines, MAXjet Airways, SilverJet and L'Avion[1] Early on, the idea was considered potentially lucrative, however the business model became vulnerable when in 2008 oil prices surpassed $100 a barrel. Between late 2007 and 2008, MAXjet, Silverjet and Eos Airlines all ceased operations, with Silverjet ceasing operations on May 30, 2008.[2] Another all business class airline, La Compagnie was founded in 2013, providing service between Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways both proposed founding rival all-business class subsidiaries until the oil crisis put an end to Virgin Atlantic's plans.[1] L'Avion continued to trade, and was purchased by British Airways for its subsidiary OpenSkies at a price of £54m in July 2008.[3] OpenSkies operated an all Boeing 757 business-class service from Paris Orly Airport during October 2008 to June 2012. Since June 2012, the premium economy Eco class was reintroduced to OpenSkies.

Airlines with all-business class service

In October 2009 British Airways launched a unique and innovative service, the first longhaul jet operations using a STOLport runway, named "Club World London City" (aka CWLCY) offering a business class only Airbus A318 service between New York JFK and London City Airport. The westbound service touches down in Ireland to refuel. To minimise wasted time CWLCY passengers on BA001 go through US Immigration and Customs in Shannon Airport as the aircraft refuels. The flight then lands as domestic flights into New York JFK, without the need to clear customs again. Eastbound flights are direct from New York JFK to London City Airport LCY. It uses the same flight numbers (BA001-BA004) as were previously used by Concorde. Concorde, which was a single cabin all-premium service, could have been said to be the world's first all business class service, although Concorde's on the ground and on board service was significantly better than that in both Business and First Class.

Until October 2013, Singapore Airlines flights flew the longest and biggest all-business class flights on their Airbus A340-500 from Singapore to New York, also the world's longest scheduled flight and to Los Angeles.[4]

Lufthansa currently offers an all-business class service, operating several routes between North America and Germany, as well as between Germany and Asia, using leased Privatair Boeing Business Jets.

Hong Kong Airlines formerly operated flights from Hong Kong to London with their all-business class Airbus A330-200. This product was discontinued in September 2012.[5] Subsequently, these A330's were wet leased to Hainan Airlines, which operated them all-business-class between Beijing and Shenzhen without reconfiguring the aircraft.[6]

List of all business class airline carriers

For the majority of its history Midwest Airlines the United States offered an all business class service and cabin configuration its DC-9 and Boeing 717 aircraft. This was discontinued in its later years in an effort to financially survive before being shut down as an individually certificated independent airline by its new Republic Airways Holdings owners


Other all-business class (charter) airline carriers d/b/a's

List of present all business class routes

Of major, flag, legacy, national, network, mainline or non-mainline airline carriers.

List of all business class "airline within an airline" marketing brands

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 "Business class airlines: a travel revolution". Just the Flight. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  2. ↑ "Troubled Silverjet stops flights". BBC News. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  3. ↑ Osborne, Alistair (3 July 2008). "BA Buys L'Avion". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  4. ↑ "World's longest haul flight coming to an end". Bloomberg. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Hong Kong Airlines to axe HK-London 'all business class' flights". Australian Business Traveller. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Hainan Airlines becomes a test bed for all-premium operations in domestic China". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
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