Remember when Eos bit the bullet a few months back and Silverjet grazed close to the line but was bailed out by the United Arab Emirates? Well, that money didn’t work out. One of the last business-class-only carriers just suspended it’s shares from trading in a move that many suspect may lead to the airline’s collapse.
“It’s business as usual” they claim, however, as they’ve been looking desperately for that five million dollars that the UAE was supposed to front, and company brass still encourages passengers to keep booking tickets.
Recall that right before Eos went south that they suspended trading of their shares as well. And that Maxjet, another competitor on the transatlantic business-class-only sector folded late last year because they couldn’t operate in the black.
Would I buy a ticket now? Nope.
But for some reason, bureaucrats still believe that business-class-only service is a profitable operation. Singapore Air recently started service direct between New York to Singapore with Los Angeles to Singapore slated for later this year. British Airways‘ OpenSkies plans to start service between JFK and much of Western Europe. Why? What do you know that these niche carriers didn’t?
At least the two new competitors have strong financial backing from legacy carriers. As history predicts though, they’re in for a tough road ahead.