Zitat

British Airways (London) is going ahead with plans to launch “OpenSkies” (formerly known as Project Lauren). The new lower-cost subsidiary (with a separate AOC) will operate from various European cities to American cities. OpenSkies will start in June with one Boeing 757-200 operating daily between New York and either Brussels or Paris (CDG). A second 757 will be added later in the year to serve the second European market. Ultimately BA intends to build up the fleet to six 757s by late 2009. The 757s will be configured with business class and premium economy seats. The current 3,000 BA pilots are not happy with this new subsidiary and they see its as a means by the company to avoid the higher costs of the mainline airline. Meanwhile BA is recruiting pilots for OpenSkies from outside the current pilot base. For more information please see http://flyopenskies.com.

Since the original announcement, BA has been rethinking its OpenSkies concept. The subsidiary was originally going to be a two-class operation targeting mainly business class customers. Now it will offer three classes of service - business class, premium economy and economy.

Zitat

OpenSkies takes to the skies

British Airways’ (London) new subsidiary, OpenSkies, launches its first flight today between Paris Orly airport and New York JFK airport. OpenSkies is the first airline created to take advantage of the Open Skies aviation agreement that allows airlines to fly between any destination in the EU and USA.

In a statement from British Airways’ chief executive, Willie Walsh, “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. While the economic climate has worsened in recent months, we believe that OpenSkies can compete effectively. It has a low cost base and support from British Airways in key areas such as sales and marketing. This differentiates it from some new airlines that have failed recently which were operating in isolation without the backing of an established carrier.”

OpenSkies plans to be operating a second Boeing 757 later this year, and will have six aircraft by the end of 2009. The airline says it is looking at a number of other destinations in Europe including Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan.