 | This article needs to be updated.(March 2024) |
A business class airline is an airline concept which emerged during the mid-first decade of the 21st century a number of airlines that operated all-business class service. [1]
| This article needs to be updated.(March 2024) |
A business class airline is an airline concept which emerged during the mid-first decade of the 21st century a number of airlines that operated all-business class service. [1]
In the decade of 2000s, several dedicated business class airlines, including Eos Airlines, MAXjet Airways, SilverJet and L'Avion have been launched. [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 in 2008 and L'Avion in 2009. [2] [3]
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. [4] 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.
Currently, only one all-business class airline, La Compagnie, which was founded in 2013, provides an all business class service between Orly Airport in Paris and Newark Liberty International Airport. Service was initially provided by two Boeing 757-200 aircraft; these were replaced with two Airbus A321neos starting from 2019. [5] [6]
Additionally, a startup known as Odyssey Airlines planned to launch all-business class flight from London City Airport to New York using Airbus A220-100 aircraft, [7] though the initial launch date of 2016 was not met and, as of March 2024, service had yet to launch.
Until October 2013, Singapore Airlines 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. [8]
Lufthansa once offered all-business class service from 2002 on routes from Germany to India, Middle East and North America using leased Privatair Boeing Business Jets and Airbus Corporate Jets. [9] However, those services have been reconfigured to include an economy class section on board. [10] [11] The Swiss International Air Lines in the Lufthansa group also offered all-business class flights with Boeing Business Jet between Zurich and Newark, before being replaced by three Airbus A340 aircraft in 2012. [12]
Hong Kong Airlines formerly operated flights from Hong Kong to London with their all-premium Airbus A330-200, with business and first class sets on board. [13] This product was discontinued in September 2012. [14] Subsequently, these A330s were wet leased to Hainan Airlines, which operated all-business class flights between Beijing and Shenzhen in the same configuration. [15]
Until October 2015, Scandinavian Airlines operated an all-business class route between Houston and Stavanger, using a Boeing 737-700. The route was primarily aimed at people working in the oil industry. The aircraft was then used to fly between Newark and Copenhagen before being reconfigured. [16]
All Nippon Airways once operated an all-business class configuration Boeing 737-700ER from Tokyo Narita to Mumbai, from 2007 to their retirement in 2013. [17] After the aircraft's retirement, the route has been upgauged to a Boeing 787-8, which also includes economy and premium economy class seats.
KLM once offered the service by using Boeing Business Jet, wet leased from PrivatAir, on the route of Amsterdam to Houston. [18]
In 2014, Qatar Airways launched the all-business class Qatar Airways Flights 15 and 16, travelling between Doha and London Heathrow Airport, with A319LR. The flight was then upgraded to use Boeing 787, after a year's operation. [19] The aircraft were also used on routes to Jeddah and Dubai before being reconfigured.
In October 2009, British Airways launched 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. As the short runway at London City limits the amount of fuel an aircraft can take off with there, the westbound service touches down in Ireland to refuel. To minimise wasted time, CWLCY passengers on BA001 go through United States border preclearance at Shannon Airport as the aircraft refuels. The flight then lands as a domestic flight into New York JFK, without the need to clear customs or immigration again. Eastbound flights are direct from New York JFK to London City Airport LCY. They use 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.
Saudia launched an all-business class flight with the Airbus A319-100 between Jeddah and Riyadh in year 2016, operated by PrivatAir. [20]
For the majority of its history Midwest Airlines offered an all-business class service and cabin configuration in 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.
Of major, flag, legacy, national, network, mainline or non-mainline airline carriers.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it ranks second in Europe for passengers carried and the world's fourth-largest airline by revenue. Lufthansa was founded in 1953 and commenced operations in April 1955.
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of Singapore with its hub located at Changi Airport. A member of Star Alliance, the airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in the corporate branding segment and not significantly changing its livery throughout its history. Widely renowned as one of the world's best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline as well as ranked as the world's best airline by Skytrax five times. The airline operates a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, namely the A350, A380, Boeing 737, Boeing 747 Freighter, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787, among others.
Swiss International Air Lines AG, stylized as SWISS, is the flag carrier of Switzerland and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, as well as a Star Alliance member. It operates scheduled services in Europe and to North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Zurich Airport serves as its main hub and Geneva Airport as its secondary hub.
Hewanorra International Airport, located near Vieux Fort Quarter, Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean, is the larger of Saint Lucia's two airports and is managed by the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA). It is on the southern cape of the island, about 53.4 km (33.2 mi) from the capital city, Castries.
British Midland Airways Limited was an airline in the United Kingdom with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close to East Midlands Airport, England. The airline flew to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Central Asia from its main hub at London Heathrow Airport, where at its peak it held about 13% of all takeoff and landing slots and operated over 2,000 flights a week. BMI was a member of Star Alliance from 1 July 2000 until 20 April 2012.
JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. It is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. It also maintains corporate offices in Utah and Florida.
EVA Airways Corporation is a Taiwanese international airline headquartered in Taoyuan City. It is one of the two largest airlines in Taiwan along with state-owned China Airlines. The privately-owned airline operates passenger and dedicated cargo services to over 40 international destinations in Asia, Australia, Europe & North America. Its network fully consists of international routes, with no domestic routes. It is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax, and is the second largest airline based in Taiwan after China Airlines. EVA Air is headquartered at Taoyuan International Airport in Luzhu, Taoyuan City. The company slogan is "Sharing the World, Flying Together".
Hamburg Airport, known in German as Flughafen Hamburg, is a major international airport in Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany. Since November 2016 the airport has been named after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. It is located 8.5 km (5.3 mi) north of the city centre in the Fuhlsbüttel quarter and serves as a hub for Eurowings and focus city for Condor. It was formerly named Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport, a name still frequently used.
Privatair SA was a Swiss airline headquartered in Meyrin, which operated business jets as well as scheduled services on behalf of major airlines. In addition the company operated crew and pilot training facilities. PrivatAir SA was a registered air carrier with two air operator's certificates, in Switzerland and through its subsidiary PrivatAir GmbH in Germany. On 5 December 2018, PrivatAir filed for insolvency and ceased operations.
MAXjet Airways was an American, transatlantic, all-business class airline that operated between 2003 and 2007. Its headquarters were located on the grounds of Washington-Dulles International Airport, and in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States.
Eos Airlines, Inc. was an American all-business class airline headquartered in Purchase, New York, with its flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. On 26 April 2008 Eos Airlines announced its plans to file bankruptcy on its web site, announcing it would cease passenger operations after April 27.
Silverjet was a British all-business class airline headquartered at London Luton Airport in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that, prior to the suspension of operations on 30 May 2008, operated services to Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai International Airport. A proposed rescue package fell through on 13 June when staff were laid off and it was announced that the airline's assets would be sold.
Elysair SAS, operating as L'Avion, was an airline headquartered in Paray Vieille Poste, France, near Wissous.
Premium economy class, also known by brand names which vary by company, is a travel class offered on many airlines. It is usually positioned between standard economy class and business class in terms of price, comfort, and available amenities. In 1991, EVA Air was the first to introduce Evergreen Class, becoming the first airline to offer this class of service. In some countries, this class has emerged as a response from governments and companies requiring economy class for travel done by staff, while still getting some benefits like airport priority.
OpenSkies SASU was a French airline owned by International Airlines Group (IAG) which operated under the Level brand prior to closing down, and before that operated under its own brand name. Its headquarters were located in Rungis, near Paris.
Club World London City was an executive all-business-class flight service between London City Airport and New York City marketed by British Airways. The service launched in September 2009 and operated until March 2020.
Norwegian Long Haul AS was a division of Norwegian Air Shuttle that operated long-haul flights between Europe, Asia, and North America with an all-Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
La Compagnie, legally incorporated as DreamJet SAS, is a French boutique airline founded by Frantz Yvelin and based at Orly Airport in Paris, with headquarters in Le Bourget in the Paris metropolitan area. It offers all-business class flights between Europe and Newark Liberty International Airport.
First class is a travel class on some passenger airliners intended to be more luxurious than business class, premium economy, and economy class. Originally all planes offered only one class of service, with a second class appearing first in 1955 when TWA introduced two different types of service on its Super Constellations.
Qatar Airways Flight 15 and Qatar Airways Flight 16, marketed as the Qatar Airways Business One service were all-business-class flights operated by Qatar Airways from its home of Doha to London—Heathrow in the UK's capital city, and returning home to Doha from London—Heathrow. The flights were operated with aircraft in a 40-seat configuration from 15 May 2014 to 15 November 2015. It was the second all-business class service from London Heathrow to the Persian Gulf area, after Silverjet's short-lived Luton to Dubai International Boeing 767 service, which was terminated in late 2007/early 2008.