Two major airlines are considering joining four start-ups to provide all business class flights at a fraction of the cost that the regular airlines charge for business and first class with private arrival and departure lounges.
The four new carriers - Eos and MaxJet, which began flying in late 2005- and Silverjet and L'Avion- which started up early this year - are just offering trans-Atlantic service. All four say the demand has exceeded expectations, and that is why the more established airlines are taking notice.
"There clearly is a demand for a niche for an all-business-class offering," president and founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways Richard Branson was quoted as saying by the International Herald Tribune on Wednesday.
Virgin announced last month that it planned to start flying within 18 months on some international routes using planes configured with all business-class seating, after the new Open Skies international agreement that takes effect next March significantly deregulates trans-Atlantic air travel.
Branson told the paper that Virgin's research showed a "mood change in the last five years" among those business travelers, who "want to sit in an airplane with people who are also working."
"It's a status thing," he added, "and a psychological thing." Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, was quoted as saying that his airline was also studying routes and fare structures for all-business-class flights, but had not yet firmly committed.
