31 July 2008

BA plans to fill the void left by Silverjet

British Airways is aiming to fill the void left by Silverjet and other failed business-only airlines with changes to its subsidiary OpenSkies.

The airline, created as a result of the OpenSkies agreement, which allows airlines to fly between any US and EU destination, is to remove all economy seats on its aircraft.

The change to a business-class only service was announced as the carrier revealed it is expanding space in its PREM+ cabin (see earlier story).

The current five rows of economy class seats will make way for 12 additional seats in premium economy.

The changes will take effect on October 1 on the airlineÃ¢â¬â¢s Paris to New York (JFK) route and will also be on its second service, between Amsterdam and New York, which will be launched on October 15.

Silverjet, Maxjet and Eos all failed because of intense competition and the rising cost of fuel.

But a spokesman for BA said that the airlineÃ¢â¬â¢s infrastructure would ensure that it survived.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœPrevious business-class airlines were stand-alone companies. BA has an existing infrastructure that offers solidity,Ã¢â¬~ said a spokesman.

BA is to launch a London City-New York service and will reveal details shortly.