SimpliFlying

The conclusion reached in the previous article on this topic was that all-business airlines are indeed going extinct, and they have to innovatively collaborate with full-service carriers for long term survival. The discussion today moves on to whether all-business class travel on full-service airlines has any future.

Full Service airlines with specific all-business routes: Verdict – Here for now

Legacy airlines are becoming more enamored with all-business-class service. Four European airlines — Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Air France— are offering some all-business-class flights to the USA. The flights are operated by PrivatAir, based in Geneva. Lufthansa runs an all-business flight to Pune, India and Dubai, UAE as well. ANA runs one between Tokyo and Mumbai, India. Singapore Airlines began it’s much awaited Newark-Singapore all-business service last month. Lastly, British Airways subsidiary OpenSkies plans to start New York-Paris flights with a Boeing 757 jet configured with more than 60% of the seats for business-class fliers, on June 19.

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In times of economic uncertainty, business travel decreases as organizations slash travel budgets. The International Air Transport Assn. is already reporting that business and first-class travel have experienced the biggest plunge in five years. Promising all-business class airlines like MaxJet, Eos and Silverjet have gone out of business in just a matter of months. Other airlines are cutting capacity too, as fuel costs rise. So what does this mean for the future of business travel? Is it going extinct, or is it here to stay? Let’s analyze this from two perspectives: business class-only airlines, and full service airlines with specific all-business routes.

All-business class airlines: Verdict – Going Extinct

The all-business model was always considered an experiment and at record high oil prices any new model struggles. Aviation analysts point to the premium-class graveyard where the tombstones are reminders of such short-lived U.S. airlines as Air One, Air Atlanta, McClain, Regent, MGM Grand and Legend. Most of these offered domestic US routes only, which re-affirms the point that there is little domestic market for all-business carriers.
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