KLM has become the third European airline to opt for Privatair’s long-haul business-class only service.
From October, Privatair will operate a daily service on behalf of KLM, with a 44-seat Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) flying between Amsterdam and Houston. The Dutch carrier attributes the strong demand for the service to Houston’s “central role” in the oil industry. Rotterdam, Europe’s main oil port, is 55km (33 miles) from KLM’s Amsterdam base.
The business-class only concept started out as a bold experiment in 2002 when Privatair began a service between Düsseldorf and New York’s Newark airport on behalf of Lufthansa.
The Geneva-based corporate airline added two additional Lufthansa transatlantic routes, Düsseldorf-Chicago and Munich-New York in 2003, while a six-times-weekly Zurich-Newark service on behalf of Swiss began in January, using a 56-seat BBJ.
KLM’s sister carrier Air France also has a specialist operation for the oil sector through its two-class, 82-seat extended-range Airbus A319 “Dedicate” services. It flies to oil destinations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Greg Thomas, Privatair chief executive, says the company is talking to carriers within Europe and elsewhere about similar services. “I would not rule out the Middle East as an area of potential expansion,” he says. The USA is also an area of interest, particularly as Privatair already has operating bases in the country. However, the UK appears to be a less fertile market for the concept, as Thomas points out that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, the only two UK-based transatlantic carriers operating from London Heathrow, will be keen to maximise the benefits of their slots with the biggest aircraft they can fill.
However, two carriers are launching business-only services on the London Stansted-Newark route. US all-business start-up Eos plans to inaugurate its 48-seat Boeing 757-200ER service in October. The carrier’s chief executive is David Spurlock, a former BA manager. Another start-up on the same route, Maxjet, is now taking bookings from November with one-way fares from £599 ($750) on its 102-seat 767s.
US major Continental Airlines tried the Stansted-Newark route earlier this decade, but pulled off the service in the wake of the 11 September attacks.
JACKIE THOMPSON/LONDON
Source: Airline Business
