J.O. Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Interesting story. So, what does everyone think of this venture ... LONDON, England (CNN) -- A new airline will soon be plying the fiercely contested trans-Atlantic route, with a finely tuned product focused on the business traveler. Eos, named after "the Greek goddess of the dawn," is in the process of attaining Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approval for flights between New York's JFK airport and London, Stansted -- which has direct rail links to the City of London business district. The privately owned airline has only 48 seats in its Boeing 757s, instead of the usual 200, and is hoping to woo business travelers with its 21 square feet (two square meters) of space per person and fully flat 78-inch (198-centimeters) seat-beds. Eos plans to start flights on this route by mid-September and compete with the likes of Virgin Atlantic and British Airways' business class offering, as well as United Airlines and Lufthansa, who both offer premium service on trans-Atlantic flights. With one route, three planes and tickets at up to 20 percent less than rivals, Eos hopes to attract a specific class of customer. "We've designed every aspect of the Eos experience specifically with the business traveler in mind," says David Spurlock, founder and CEO of Eos, who is a former head of strategy at British Airways. He is hoping that the market is ready for this new service, as the trans-Atlantic travel business continues to expand. "We founded Eos on a simple premise, that an airline could know its customers well enough to become a true specialist, offering a superior travel experience at a competitive price," adds Spurlock. Flights offer fliers a personal DVD player, a china service to accompany meals, and cashmere blankets. Founded in March 2003, the company has raised $87 million in equity and approximately $100 million in lease financing, mainly from U.S. private equity firms. Eos is not the only carrier planning to launch services on this route. Fly First -- another UK firm -- is trying to raise money for a premium service between London's Luton airport and Newark using the same configuration, a Boeing 757 with 48 seats. Eos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They plan to have less than 1/4 of the seats of their competitors but they're going to charge 20% less for the tickets! What a brilliant idea! I wonder if I could invest....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W5 Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Another one on the new bandwagon. KLM is also going to use PrivatAir for business class only flights Amsterdam-Houston. Interesting to see on how this is going to shake out in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fester Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 The (well-heeled) pasenger is still stuck dealing with the plebs during arrival at the airport, check-in, security madness, apron congestion, gate delays etc. For the money, a G-V, Global, Challenger leaving from an executive airport with a walk-through FBO is the ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 They plan to have less than 1/4 of the seats of their competitors but they're going to charge 20% less for the tickets! What a brilliant idea! I wonder if I could invest....... I would imagine that 20% less is from a full First Class ticket price which can run $10,000 on the Atlantic. Most of the 200 people on the other 757 pay less that $1,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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