American Airlines is to go
head-to-head with Eos and MAXjet
at Stansted on the transatlantic route to New York JFK. The airline
announced today that it will launch daily services from the Essex airport
from 29 October and will add a second daily service from March 2008.
The new services will be operated by two-class Boeing 767-300 aircraft with
221 seats, including 30 in business class. The airline has recently
revamped its business class to include lie-flat seats and audio and video on
demand.
Gerard Arpey, American’s chairman and chief executive, said: “Our new service
to London Stansted will provide our travellers with an alternative London
airport and convenient service into a growing business district. Our
customers have asked for this choice of airports and we are going to meet
that need at competitive prices.”
The airline has yet to announce fares on the Stansted route and tickets are
not yet bookable through the airline’s website. Eos is currently charging
from around £1,800 return including taxes in November.
Jack Williams, chief executive of Eos Airlines, told Times Online Business
Travel: “Just two weeks ago, Eos announced its expanded JFK-Stansted
schedule and I declared that there is no longer any reason to endure the
Heathrow experience just for the sake of having more schedule options. This
latest development further validates the fact that premium business
travellers are demanding more access to Stansted as an extremely attractive
alternative to LHR and other London airports.
“While American’s new service will undoubtedly compete head-to-head with other
airlines, we are confident that Eos Class will continue to lead, by a wide
margin, all the carriers in the New York-London premium travel market.”
American Airlines has also announced it would use the recently signed Open
Skies agreement to transfer some of its Gatwick services to Heathrow. From
March 2008, when the agreement comes into force, the airline’s daily
Raleigh/Durham service and one of its two daily Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
services will shift to Heathrow.
“These are significant schedule developments and demonstrate a continuing
commitment which is driven by the London market’s importance to our
customers, as well as Heathrow’s worldwide connections through our oneworld
partners. This will be the first time London passengers using our DFW or
Raleigh/Durham gateways will be able to fly directly to Heathrow,” said
Arpey.
Dallas/Fort Worth is American’s main hub in the US.
