First time here? Check out the site's "greatest hits" or read a random post from the archives. Feel free to ask a question, and consider subscribing to the latest posts via RSS or e-mail. Thanks for visiting!

Travelers hoping for an empty adjacent seat on startup airlines MaxJet and Eos Airlines are in luck. The all-business class carriers are flying rather empty thus far, according to the Times of London.

The numbers aren’t broken out, but the two airlines combined to show a 32% load factor, i.e., two out of three seats left empty. MaxJet’s fleet consists of Boeing 767-200s configured for 102 passengers, while Eos flies 757s outfitted with 48 seats. Maxjet’s CEO, Gary Rogliano, charges that competitor Eos’ planes are only carrying 5 to 10 passengers per flight — a load factor between 10 and 20%, if true. Compare this to the major airlines’ load factors, which hover near 80%.

Rogliano also argues that the winter is a slow travel season — but this is primarily true for leisure travel, not business travel. The summer is when we really see business-class bookings across the Atlantic drop, and when the airlines offer business class sale fares.

Maybe this is where the real Maxjet business model lies: high-rolling vacationers, and not business travelers at all. While the MaxJet model has its flaws, its sale fares are still a great deal for high quality inflight service. Perhaps they’ll survive on tourist bookings, if they can stay aloft.