Second business class carrier goes bust

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AIRLINE BUST: Eos has filed for bankruptcy, scuppering plans to launch a service to Dubai in June.

UK-based all business-class carrier Eos Airlines no longer has a Dubai service in its sights after the company filed for bankruptcy on Saturday.

The London-Stansted hubbed carrier, which currently flies to New York, was planning to start daily services to Dubai from June, but has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection making it the second all business-class airline to do so.

Its failure, which comes after just six months in operation, follows in the footsteps of MAXjet, which shut down before Christmas.

Eos operated its final flight between Stansted and New York last night - but rival Silverjet immediately stepped in to offer Eos passengers a special rate for seats on its London Luton to Newark service.

Silverjet CEO Lawrence Hunt said: "Our commitment lies firstly with ensuring our own passengers enjoy Silverjet's seamless stress-free experience, but we hope that this offer will provide some peace of mind to EOS passengers.

"The airline industry is hugely competitive and this has been starkly illustrated by today's announcement.

"With our unique proposition and very reasonable prices, passengers can look forward to continuing to fly with Silverjet and enjoying the calm and intimate experience that we offer."

Silverjet, which also operates a daily Dubai-London service, reported 23% growth in passenger numbers last month.

Eos had seemed ambitious to the end and just last week the airline's chief lifestyle officer Adam Komack told magazine Arabian Travel News the carrier not only planned to fly from London to Dubai but to connect the Middle East with other European destinations.

"Our long-term plans include serving approximately 10-12 destinations," he told Arabian Travel News in an exclusive interview.

"This includes launching services to other European destinations from New York and the West Coast. We may also choose to operate flights within Europe, from Europe to other Middle East destinations, or from Miami to destinations in South America."

Komack revealed that Eos would double the size of its fleet by the first quarter of 2009 in order for the airline to add more destinations and increase frequencies.

At time of filing for bankruptcy, Eos boasted a seven-strong fleet - four are in service, two is being outfitted and one is being used for high-density charters.

When asked if there was room for two all business-class carriers on the Dubai-London route, Komack replied: "It is not about business class airlines compared to traditional airlines or about single class versus multi-class. It is about service and value for money. We will continue to create a category of one experience that leaves all the others trailing in our wake."

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