Former BA executive launches new airline

A former British Airways executive will start a new airline this year to fly between New York and London.

The new airline, called Eos and founded by David Spurlock, will begin its business-class-only trans-Atlantic service in the third quarter.

The airline will lease three 757 aircraft and configure them with 48 seats, rather than the typical 200 seats, giving each customer 21 square feet of space.

They will fly between New York’s Kennedy airport and London’s Stansted.

Other airlines, including Lufthansa, have experimented with offering business-class-only flights.

Eos has secured about €150m in equity and lease financing from Golden Gate Capital, a private equity company, and venture capital firms Sutter Hill Ventures and Maveron.

Chief Executive Spurlock was head of strategy for British Airways.