Originally Posted by PresRDC
Privatair is a completely different business model than EOS or MAXjet, so it is comparing apples to oranges.
Both EOS and MAXjet have low density seating. They need to fill the vast majority of those seats on a nightly basis at high fares to stand a chance at making a profit.
Neither airline offers frequency. Their competitors in the market do.
They only fly to one overseas and two U.S. destinations. That makes it very difficult for them to land corporate accounts, which are what provide a reliable stream of premium fares. Without this, they need to rely on ad-hoc business travelers and price sensitive premium leisure travelers. That's not a reliable base of support.
It would be hard enough for one carrier to succeed here, but there are two going head-to-head.
Fuel prices are high and one of the carriers, MAXjet, is operating particularly old equipment.
The airports served by EOS and MAXjet have huge O&D markets so the connectivity is much less of an issue. I'm also willing to bet both already have some decent corporate accounts from financial institutions that have no interests outside Wall Street or DC.
Your assumption that they need high load factor can't be debated as we don't know what load factors they need to make a profit. It might be far lower than we think especially if you consider the low number of first and biz pax on any legacy carrier flights. Also, their fuel burn is going to be lower because they don't have as much weight onboard.
It's quite possible one will exit the market but I maintain that one or two of these airlines can be successful in cherry picking routes and premium pax from the legacy carriers. Personally, if I had the choice between sharing an aircraft with a couple of hundred economy pax with screaming babies and unruly passengers and an airline that is probably out of the reach of most, I know where I'd spend my money.