Strictly Business: Flying In Comfort on the Cheap

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

THE MIDDLE SEAT
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

Strictly Business: Flying In Comfort on the Cheap
We Test the Latest Carriers To Offer Single-Class Service; The Risk of One-Plane Airlines
June 19, 2007; Page D1

Can't stand the cramped conditions of coach cabins on long flights? Can't afford $8,000 for business class across the Atlantic on a major airline? There's an alternative now, and it's growing rapidly. Call it business class "lite" -- fewer amenities, but plenty of comfort at a fraction of the price. Two new start-ups, Silverjet from England and L'Avion from France started flying in January between Europe and the U.S., joining U.S.-based Maxjet in offering all-business-class service at prices as low as $1,398 round trip. A fourth start-up, Eos Airlines, offers a first-class suite with New York-London round-trip tickets priced at between $3,800 and $7,500.

(snip)

Travelers are hungrier than ever for something better than coach-class confinement. But upgrades with frequent-flier miles are harder to come by. And if you need to go to London tomorrow, the cheapest business-class seats on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from New York are priced at more than $10,000 round trip. The new carriers, with only 48 to 100 passengers a flight, can offer individualized service and other goodies at more-affordable prices. "These guys have put some civility into overseas travel," said Marc Broidy of New York, a financial adviser who has flown Maxjet, Silverjet and L'Avion. "I just want the opportunity to be comfortable, with a decent meal -- it doesn't have to be gourmet -- and some entertainment on demand."

Big airlines are taking note. Lufthansa, Swiss and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offer all-business-class flights on several routes between the U.S. and Europe, subcontracting the flying to a charter carrier called PrivatAir. Prices are comparable to regular business class on those carriers. Virgin and British Airways have said recently they are working on plans for all-premium-service flights using planes smaller than the wide bodies they fly between the U.S. and London now. It's not known what fares will be for those services.

(snip)

Silverjet flies between London's Luton Airport, 32 miles north of central London, and Newark Liberty International Airport with one aircraft -- a 21-year-old Boeing 767-200. Silverjet has acquired a second plane that will be used to start a second daily Newark-London trip. Three additional 767s are under contract. A one-airplane airline has a unique problem when maintenance gremlins strike: The airline is grounded. That happened June 3 and Silverjet booked passengers on Virgin Atlantic flights -- some in coach, some in "Upper Class."


(snip)

L'Avion flies between Orly Airport in Paris and Newark six days a week with a single Boeing 757 outfitted with 90 business-class seats and prices starting at $1,594. Orly is closer to downtown Paris than Charles de Gaulle Airport, where all other flights from the U.S. land.

(snip)


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118220442477339653.html (subscription)

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I read this in the WSJ this morning

Where the bloody heck do they get a business class flight on British Airways between New York and London costing $10,000? I've flown on British Airways from Seattle to Munich, round trip with a stop-over in London on the way back, for only $5,000.

Methinks someone at Silverjet wrote the article and used the cost of a First Class ticket, which is an entirely different class of service than Business.

[question everything]

2. I think that if you need to purchase a ticket today for tomorrow

departure, one way first class easily can cost $5,000 or more, so a round trip could be $10,000 or close to..

But even without the comparison, $1,400 round trip at a business class comfort is a nice price.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. So I went and checked at British Airways and....

Errr.... good point.

Leaving tomorrow from Seattle to London and returning Friday on Business Class: $6118 each way. Including taxes and fees, the total price is $12,476.44.

In contrast, the same flight leaving Saturday, September 15 and returning Sunday, September 23 (when I vacation in Europe, I usually go in the autumn to avoid crowds and the hottest weather) on Business Class is only $2398 each way, with a total final price of $5,034.44; a round trip less than the cost of a one-way trip tomorrow.

I'm not sure if it is the season or the "last-minute"-ness, but wow. I sit corrected.

Added: British Airways website if you want to do your own research.

And added some more: I realized that the comparison above might not be fair, as both legs of the "now" trip leave on a weekday while the autumn trip leaves on the weekend. Looking to leave June 22 (Friday; there are no business class seats available for Saturday, June 23) and return Sunday, July 1 still costs $12,476.44 round trip. Again... wow.