airlines

British Airways launch OpenSkies service from Paris to New York

British Airways has launched its new subsidiary airline OpenSkies with its inaugural flight from Paris to New York.

It is the first BA flight to run directly from mainland Europe to the US. OpenSkies is the first airline created specifically to take advantage of the recently-implemented agreement between the EU and the US to liberalise transatlantic air travel.

The flight left Paris Orly on June 19 and used a Boeing 757 modified to take just 82 passengers. This extra space created from removing 88 seats has given way to 24 business class seats that convert to fully flat beds, the only available on the Paris to New York route, plus 28 premier plus seats and only 30 economy class seats.

OpenSkies will now run the service daily, while a second 757 is due to be due to join the new airline later in 2008. New routes being considered are from Frankfurt, Milan, Amsterdam and Brussels.

“This is an exciting new chapter in our history as, for the first time, we will be flying directly between continental Europe and the US,” said British Airways’ chief executive Willie Walsh.

“We are confident that OpenSkies will have a successful future,” he added. “It will benefit from British Airways’ experience in the transatlantic market and have the ability to be innovative and respond quickly to changing customer demands. OpenSkies will become a test-bed for new customer services and onboard products that we hope to integrate into British Airways’ fleet.”

The new airline recently faced controversy due to a threatened strike by BA pilots objecting to pay and conditions offered to OpenSkies’ staff.