Silverjet’s shares suspended as airline begins to falter

by Grant Martin on

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.

So long, Oasis Hong Kong

by Grant Martin on

The Low Cost Carrier massacre continues, with the newest victim being one of the first budget long-haul, international airlines. Oasis Hong Kong was founded in February of 2005 with the idea that competitive fares on the Hong Kong – Vancouver and Hong Kong – London routes would make a killing for the company. I remember the glee of shopping around for super cheap 150£ budget tickets between London and Hong Kong a few years back, only to take the shorter route on Cathay over the Pacific. I was never able to find a good time to make it out to London or Vancouver to hop on an Oasis flight — I guess I never will.

The departure of Oasis Hong Kong is our first strong sign that domestic airlines’ oil woes are being felt felt around the globe. While it is true that world markets are all generally in decline, many people don’t consider how many airlines are really out there and how many are struggling in the modern economy.

Those who are now stranded by Oasis are encouraged to call a hotline set up by Cathay Pacific to gobble up any stray passengers, while others who have already booked and paid are possibly eligible for a refund. Several stipulations do apply to earning that cash, however, so you’ll have to read the website carefully to make plans.

Farewell Oasis Hong Kong. I wish that we had met.

What strange things have been found on planes?


Click the image to read the bizarre story…

UK airline Flybe caught hiring actors to boost passenger loads

by Grant Martin on

Many Americans don’t realize it, but the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) situation in the UK is downright comical. It seems that every other week or so Ryanair is in the news for some stupid advertising campaign involving boobs, slimeball politicians or both. But competition is pretty tight in the LCC market, so they have to earn their stripes in some way, right?

This week, little known budget carrier flybe was caught attempting to hire actors and actresses to pose as passengers on their flights to fool authorities at Norwich Airport. Why would they do something crazy like this, you ask? Apparently the airline had a deal with the municipality to fly fifteen thousand passengers on the Norwich-Dublin route. If they didn’t hit their numbers by March 31, the airport got to levy a $560,000 fine against the budget carrier

At just a few days out, they were still 172 passengers short, so they started placing ads for free round trip tickets for the weekend, posting ads on actors’ websites and asking their employees to be ready to fly roundtrip over the weekend.

Norwich and the news agencies naturally caught wind and now the airport is pretty sour with flybe. Each party called the other greedy and environmentally unconscious, and now flybe is not invited over for tea this weekend.

Still, you have to admit that it’s a pretty low stunt to pull if you’re not going to make your numbers. Corporate greed, anyone?

Troubled waters ahead for Maxjet

by Grant Martin on

Many of you have heard about Maxjet, the international business-class-only low cost carrier flying among New York, London, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It’s an interesting idea — offer fewer seats in a business class environment and charge only slightly more than a traditional economy seat — and I’d like to try it some time.

And most people truly are mildly interested by the notion — especially when they see the nifty cabin tour — it’s just that few people are willing to try it. Combined with the discomfort of trying a new product, many business travelers are pulled away by frequent flyer programs and the inaccessibility to London proper (Maxjet flies into Stansted). Leisure travelers, on the other hand, either don’t know about Maxjet (because their fares aren’t loaded into canonical search engines like Orbitz and Expedia) or are too cheap to pay for business class seats.

Perhaps for these reasons combined with the market and oil squeeze, Maxjet is starting to feel the heat. In October they suddenly suspended flights into Washington and as of last week they suspended trading of their stock on the London Stock Exchange.

While their corporate sources claim business as usual and their schedule remains open, one can only speculate that the airline is having issues. Keep your glock unclipped.

Via The New York Post