Virgin plans business-class-only airline

London -- Britain's Virgin Atlantic Airways said it planned to start a trans-Atlantic business-class-only airline, with no seats for coach-class passengers.

The new carrier, which may use the Virgin Atlantic name, plans to start in 12 to 18 months, Virgin said Monday.

It will fly to New York and other U.S. cities from London; Paris; Milan, Italy; Zurich, Switzerland; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Frankfurt, Germany.

The move will put Virgin head to head with new carriers, including New York's Eos Airlines, London's Silverjet, Paris's L'Avion and suburban Washington's MAXjet Airways. All four have launched similar business-only flights that offer amenities such as laptop computer power at every seat, gourmet food served on restaurant china and deeply reclining seats.

British Airways said last month it planned all-premium trans-Atlantic service between continental Europe and the United States next summer.

Virgin has begun talks with Boeing Co., Europe's Airbus SAS and Brazil's Embraer over a possible $700 million aircraft order for up to 15 new planes, The Times of London reported.

Virgin's move comes 2 1/2 months after the European Union and the United States signed the Open Skies aviation treaty, which lets any European airline fly from any EU city to any U.S. city, and vice versa, starting next April.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.