Eos, we hardly knew ye. Just as we were about to publish a glowing article about the all business class airline, Eos, they went under. What happened, according to my friends in the airline business, is that most likely they didn’t get their next round of funding from their banks and stock holders. Plus American matched their business class fare…and kapow!
The story that we would have published quoted Eos’ CEO saying that it’s not what you add to airline service, it’s what you take away. These folks had come up with a luxurious configuration of just 48 seats in a 220 seat airplane. They had reduced the lines one had to wait in to a minimum, and offered their own limo service to and from the airport. They took away the hassles and that was their business plan.
But lurking in the background of any airline start up are the big bad wolves…Like American Airlines, who matched the $3800 fare offered by Eos from JFK to Heathrow, not London Stanstead, where Eos left you off. This combined with losing their funding spelled doom for Eos, a great idea whose time, most likely, will not come again. There are just too many of these all business class airlines in the graveyard for anyone to try this again, at least not anyone except a major who might be able to pull it off.