Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The potential for a transatlantic route from Stansted received a further boost when BAA revealed it was in discussions with several airlines eager to become the first carrier to offer a regular service between the US and London since Continental Airlines pulled out in 2001.

A number of other airlines are also looking at long-haul out of Stansted, but headed towards the Far East instead. The numbers for both are split between paper airlines – those awaiting certification – and existing ones already in operation.

BAA Stansted spokes-man, Mark Davidson, said: “There is a handful of airlines, both paper and existing, looking to fly out of Stansted, each at different stages of progress.

“Eos and MAXjet are still in the certification process and we will continue meeting and talking with them. It is ebbs and flows in terms of timescales for these and the other companies, but that is always the way. We can’t give more details than that about the companies.”

As SkyLink, MAXjet had revealed that its plans for low-cost flight between the Washington/Baltimore area and Stansted had been delayed and that it was looking at alternative European destinations, with Berlin believed to be the favourite.

A spokesman said that SkyLink hadn’t managed to fast-track FAA approval, setting launch plans back at least two months. SkyLink had originally anticipated flying between Europe and the US as early as July.

The spokesman said: “We will have to wait until the end of next month before we receive certification.

“We were unable to rush it through. Before then we’ll be meeting to talk about destinations. I cannot put my hand on heart and tell you that we’ll be flying from the UK anyway.”

However, Joshua Marks, MAXjet’s vice president of Planning and Corporate Dev-elopment and previously SkyLink president, denied the claims, saying: “MaxJet is totally committed to flying to Stansted.”

Though MAXjet says it will announce routes and a start date once it has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, it believes flights will be starting in the autumn at “industry-leading fares” – even for last-minute passengers.

It already has US Department of Transport approval to operate transatlantic and South American services, but for the time being remains focused on Stansted. Other countries approved include Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

MAXjet proposes to sell economy and business-class tickets at fares 15 to 70 per cent lower than those offered by traditional carriers, flying in wide-body Boeing 767s.

There will be considerable prestige for the first airline to successfully crack long-haul flights from Stansted, as many have tried but fallen, some even before they started.

Civair promised a low-cost route between Stansted and Cape Town and took thousands of bookings for the Christmas period from South Africans eager to visit their families. Following several postponements the airline never got off the ground as it struggled to finance a plane.

Zoom Airlines operated a “successful” route between Stansted and Vancouver, Canada, last summer, but is now only flying from London Gatwick instead with no plans for another Stansted route in place.

In the early nineties American Airlines pulled the plug in double quick time on a Stansted service following a deeply flawed marketing strategy, which crippled its attempts to make a service pay.

Continental also suffered similar blows, but was ultimately knocked out by the slump that followed 9/11.

With its low prices and talk of a connecting flights to Orlando, Florida, home of Disneyland, MAXjet will appeal to families looking to holiday in the United States, although it will also offer a limited number of business seats.

Eos meanwhile will rest its hopes on the high-paying business market, dipping into the substantial pool of City of London travellers who want a speedy and luxurious flights across the pond.

Converting Boeing 757s to carry 48 business travellers rather than 200 regular flyers, the New York airline hopes to dramatically cut down the time taken to board its flights, tempting passengers away from London Gatwick.

The airline also plans to keep costs 20 to 25 per cent lower than comparable business services and would avoid the long delay regular business travellers experience as they wait for economy travellers to board.