The worsening economic climate has hit airlines offering business class only, with Maxjet filing for bankruptcy and Virgin Atlantic and British Airways ditching plans to enter the market.

Maxjet, which raised £50 million on AIM in June, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Christmas Eve, forcing hundreds of passengers to find new flights.

Virgin has quietly dropped a plan to launch an exclusive transatlantic service for businessmen. BA’s rival project is understood to have stalled.

Project Lauren, as BA’s proposed service is called internally, was to be a business-only service linking cities in Europe with the United States. BA now admits that the structure has changed and that Project Lauren will include economy-class passengers. However, aviation sources say that Project Lauren has run into problems.

US authorities have told airlines that they will not be allowed to add services at New York’s JFK airport. This is an attempt to limit congestion at the notoriously crowded airport and would force BA to set up at another airport, adding to the project’s cost.

BA’s unions are also thought to object to Project Lauren as the airline is proposing hiring European pilots and crew on lower wages.

A spokesman for BA said that it did not know yet whether Lauren would be launched or what cities it would serve.

The prospects for launching Lauren may also have been damaged by the economic turmoil of recent months, which has already forced Maxjet into bankruptcy. Maxjet, launched only a year ago, said that it could not cope with rising fuel costs, intense competition and declining consumer spending.

Maxjet operated from Stansted to New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It seated only 100 people in a business-class-only configuration, offering tickets for a third of a regular BA or Virgin business fare.

Maxjet had sought extra funding in recent weeks, but could not find new backers. Its shares were suspended on December 7. William Stockbridge, the chief executive, said: “Our management team vigorously explored alternative courses, but sadly determined that a bankruptcy filing would best protect our customers and creditors.”

Silverjet, another business-only carrier that operates from Luton to New York and Dubai, said yesterday that it was in a strong financial position and that its routes would move into profit early next year. It raised £72 million from investors, but lost more than £1 million a month in the first half of the financial year.

Eos also offers exclusive transatlantic flights, but it has pitched its service at first-class passengers and carries just 48 people. The airline has raised an estimated £81 million.

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