New entrants Eos Airlines and MaxJet both are offering daily, all-premium services between New York JFK and London Stansted Airport. Though their concepts are similar—a spacious inflight product offered at prices below comparable services from incumbent transatlantic operators—the carriers have approached the market with different strategies.
Having already launched this month ahead of its initial schedule
(BTN, June 20), Eos is focused on top-end first-class passengers and, for now, is relying on direct sales. MaxJet, scheduled to inaugurate flights this week, has tailored its product toward price-conscious, business-class passengers and is utilizing global distribution systems, in addition to direct sales efforts, to capture corporate customers.
"It is important to be in as many distribution systems as possible," said MaxJet CEO Gary Rogliano said, noting the carrier's participation in Worldspan, Galileo and Sabre GDSs, and such online agencies as Expedia, Sabre's Travelocity and Cendant's Orbitz. Worldspan also provides its reservations platform.
Rogliano also said the company has allocated resources to corporate sales efforts both in the United States and the United Kingdom, though he envisions ad-hoc corporate usage rather than formalized corporate commitments. Unlike Eos, MaxJet participates in ARC, enabling accredited travel agents and corporate travel departments to settle sales through the ARC system. The airline accepts all major credit cards.
The Dulles, Va.-based startup uses Boeing 767 aircraft configured in a two-by-two layout of 102 seats, each with a 60-inch pitch. The product includes meal service and portable on-demand entertainment.
On the ground, MaxJet operates from JFK's Terminal One. The carrier shares a lounge with Korean Airlines. At Stansted, MaxJet currently is building the airport's first business-class lounge facility, expected to open later this year. It also is offering discounted prices on arrivals services available at the Radisson SAS Hotel located at Stansted.
MaxJet fares start at $679 each way, which MaxJet said is 50 percent to 75 percent below prices currently available in the market. Ticket prices do not include about $150 in roundtrip fees and taxes. Ticket changes incur a $100 charge and refunds cost $300.
"We lowered our fares even more because we think there is so much of an untapped market we're dealing with here," Rogliano said. "Business class travel should be affordable, and MaxJet's fares will ensure that a substantially greater amount of people can now travel comfortably without paying a fortune."
In addition to an initial Boeing 767 to be used for six weekly JFK-Stansted flights, MaxJet this month announced it had secured two additional B767s that may be used next month to boost frequencies and/or launch a charter program.
The company also is considering Washington Dulles-London Stansted service, which could launch by year-end. "There are five or six other U.S. markets that make sense," Rogliano said. MaxJet has received U.S. Department of Transportation approval to also serve such markets as Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Rogliano also noted that MaxJet "originally was built to connect low-cost carriers here and in Europe, and that model still holds." He said he is in discussions with other airlines and envisions cooperative marketing programs but not code sharing.
Meanwhile, Eos accelerated its original launch date from this week to mid-October after securing final U.S. DOT and U.K. Department for Transport approval. Its product—operated on Boeing 757 aircraft—includes 48 passenger "suites" featuring lie-flat beds. Executives have said that the 21 square feet of space allocated to each passenger is "unprecedented."
Eos claimed already to have lined up business from large and small corporate accounts, but airline officials at press time were unable to provide details about the carrier's current corporate sales efforts.
Though Eos does not participate in any of the four major global distribution systems, its Web site includes an "agency portal." The site's reservations platform is powered by Accenture subsidiary Navitaire.
Eos operates from JFK's Terminal Four. It is planning a second daily JFK-Stansted flight for Jan. 3. Unrestricted roundtrip fares are $6,500.