UK-based Airlines - ups and downs!
 

What's going on? New airlines take off, as old ones crash and burn. It's a cut-throat world out there, at 35,000 feet.

First we hear today news that low-cost Scottish airline Air Scotland is going quietly down the pan. The founder has sold up, and the compnay has huge unpaid debts. 200 people are stuck in Glasgow, with their flight to Alicante grounded, pending unpaid fuel debts.

Oh yeah, and Air Scotland last week applied for permission to operate a twice-weekly service to Baghdad, Iraq.

Hmmm.....

Meanwhile, two new airlines have launched today, both flying from Stanstead to NY JFK. However, what stands out is that they are business class-only!

Eos and Maxjet have a business model that will directly target the business travellers, currently using BA and VS.

Eos
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Fare: London to JFK: £3,550 return after initial offer period
Number of aircraft: One Boeing 757
Number of seats: 48
Seat size: 78in flatbed

Maxjet
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Fare: $779 each way
Number of aircraft: One Boeing 767
Number of seats: 102
Seat size: 60in recliner

One flight each way, per day. And no frequent flyer program associations. Surely this is a corporate mistake? But the founder and chief executive of Eos is Dave Spurlock, an American who was formerly director of strategy at British Airways. And he was good at his job.

With such competition in pricing and routing between current airlines, I just can't see how there is room for new airlines. This isn't necessarily good for the passenger, especially if you're an Air Scotland customer!

Just to offer a correction to the title "UK airlines".

Air Scotland was Greek.

Maxjet and Eos are US companies.

Amended. :)

Except that EOS and Maxjet still aren't UK-based.

How about "Airlines that fly to places in the UK"? :)