Eos and Maxjet, the business-only transatlantic airlines, have approached a number of European carriers, including British Airways, looking for a partner or possible buyer.

The airlines are thought to be seeking access to the marketing and procurement power of the larger carriers. Industry sources said that they had approached BA, Air France and Lufthansa.

Eos, which offers first-class flights across the Atlantic for less than half the regular BA fare, is also understood to be talking to institutional investors and private equity firms about selling a stake in the business. It is believed to have ruled out an initial public offering (IPO) in London.

Maxjet, which raised £50 million listing on AIM two weeks ago, is believed to have proposed a merger with Silverjet, the other main player in the emerging business-only market. Eos, which has already raised $162 million (£81 million) from private equity backers, refused to comment on discussions with other airlines. Dave Spurlock, founder of Eos, added: “We do not discuss our financing activities.”

Maxjet said that it was not in negotiations and BA declined to comment.

The concept of business-only flights has taken off in the past two years on the back of increased demand for premium tickets. However, the all-business carriers will soon be contending with both BA and Virgin Atlantic, which plan their own premium-only services.

BA has filed an application with US authorities to begin flying business-only flights from European destinations to New York. The airline is expected to announce details of its service in November and is tipped to be planning a refit of Boeing 757s already in its fleet.

Virgin is expected to begin its services early in 2009 and is talking to Boeing and Airbus about buying new aircraft.

Business and first-class seats are the profitable parts of running a transatlantic service and both BA and Virgin are concerned that the new carriers could cut into their margins.

They are seeking to compete by offering their own premium flights, although BA may limit its service to cities such as Paris to avoid cannibalising its existing Heathrow flights.

Of the premium-only services flying, Eos is at the upper end of the market with a flight to New York today costing £1,800 one-way. A first-class BA fare is £4,245 and a business class ticket is £2,700.

Eos seats just 48 people on its Boeing 757s; Silverjet offers a business-class service and its strategy is to provide frequent flights between London and New York, and Maxjet is looking to concentrate on new routes to cities such as Miami and Los Angeles.

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