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Eos Airlines, the all-business class class airline that actually approached all-first class service on the New York-London route, shut down abruptly today. Their homepage contains the now all-too-familiar declaration, as seen in the Maxjet and Skybus shutdowns, that future flights are canceled.

The business class wars, so heated just a year ago, are nearing an end. Who knows how long the remaining all-business class carriers — Silverjet and L’Avion — can hold on. The standalone niche all-business class airline just isn’t viable in a recessionary world of $120 oil.

Eos didn’t actually blame oil prices in their last-minute notice that they were shutting down. Instead, they blamed the credit markets.

This announcement is particularly regrettable since we have achieved so much, including having a term sheet in hand for additional financing. Clearly, even in today’s challenging economic and credit environment, investors believe in Eos. Unfortunately, some issues arose that prevented the parties from moving forward.

Nice spin. Maybe the airline’s investors held out hope, but hope is not a plan. And in today’s economic environment, the bankers didn’t see that plan coming together.

Of the three all-biz airlines on the NYC-London route, that now leaves Silverjet. They’re appealing to Eos ticketholders, saying they’ll “honour the price you paid to EOS, subject to seat availability and a minimum price paid” — a minimum of £600 / $1,200 plus taxes one-way or £1,200 / $2,400 plus taxes round trip. I note that they say they’ll honor the PRICE, not the TICKET. I’ve put in a question to Silverjet, to see if this means they’ll be accepting Eos tickets as-is, or if they will require a payment in the amount of the original fare. I’ll update if and when they respond. (Updated: See below.)

British Airways is offering reduced rates to Eos customers for business class fares. No word on how big a discount.

No word yet from Virgin, American, or anyone else on the NYC-London route as to how they’ll approach Eos customers.

If you can’t be rebooked, call your credit card and try to get a refund. With Eos’ pricing being on the higher end, you’ll want that money back.

UPDATE: Silverjet clarifies their policy. “This statement means you will need to purchase new flights from Silverjet and then claim any monies owed from Eos back from them, your credit card company or your travel insurance provider.” In other words, they’ll let you buy a new ticket at the original Eos fare, which, if it was purchased a while back, may be cheaper than a walkup fare today, but they aren’t honoring Eos tickets as-is.