OpenSkies, the premium transatlantic airline launched by British Airways, recently announced it would start Amsterdam-New York service. But the bigger news from the airline is that it's about to rip out all its economy class seats.
Yep, now that Eos, MaxJet and Silverjet have left the market, OpenSkies is going all business class, removing the 30-passenger economy cabin and filling the space with 12 "Prem+" seats with 52 inches of pitch and 140-degree recline. With the existing premium seats and first class, the carrier's one 757 will only carry 64 passengers at a time.
Why the change? The managing director of the carrier, Dale Moss, told Cranky Flier Brett Snyder that those economy seats were "a distraction." Seems he'd rather focus on new destinations instead: Boston and Washington are candidates for future service, as are Barcelona, Brussels and Milan.
L'Avion, the last independent transatlantic all business class carrier, just got bought up by British Airways. The backer of the new premium airline OpenSkies directly competed with L'Avion for Paris to New York passengers--until today.
The deal cost BA €68 million ($108 million), though L'Avion had €33 million in cash in the bank. More importantly than eliminating the competition and getting two 757s, OpenSkies will also get L'Avion's landing slots at ORY.
We have two big questions. First, where will the newly-expanded OpenSkies fly? L'Avion served Newark, while the BA offshoot lands at JFK. A company press release mentions "up to three daily flights between Paris Orly and the New York area." The second question: Will OpenSkies make a dime off this deal?
The new carrier OpenSkies successfully began its New York to Paris (ORY) route on June 19, and so far things are going smoothly. The airline seeks to battle increasing operating costs with its unique model of pricey business class seats with a limited economy cabin. Says British Airways CEO Willie Walsh:
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.
First hand trip reports from the inaugural flights have been slow to roll in. But Ben from the One Mile at a Time blog was on that first flight and offers some great pictures and experiences of the Prem+ cabin:
The seat was much wider, at least around the shoulders, which made it easy to get comfortable. I also found the leather to be non-sticky and easy to find a comfortable position in, which is a big plus. Each seat included a very stylish OpenSkies pillow and comfortable blanket. Overall I can't find one thing to fault the seats for, and would find them easy to sleep in.
What fuel prices? British Airways is launching its spin-off carrier OpenSkies on June 19, and fares in the airline's "Prem+" cabin are starting as low as $720 one-way between Paris (ORY) and JFK.
We found a round-trip booking in June for $1,553 all-in, which isn't bad considering cattle class on OpenSkies for the same dates we searched is $1,250. (L'Avion is doing Newark-ORY on those dates for $2,280.)
The Prem+ cabin gets you 52 inch seat pitch, a 140 degree recline and two power plugs per seat. Not that regular economy is bad: With only 30 seats, your chances of sharing the cabin with a screaming infant are drastically reduced.
If you wanna sit in business class, the same dates will cost you $3,662. But you'll kick it with fully flat beds, more leg room than you need and a la carte dining.
Now that all the American carriers are jumping to provide across-the-pond service, British Airways has finally unveiled its secret Project Lauren. The new name for the new airline-within-an-airline? OpenSkies.
Besides the unfortunately clunky moniker, the outfit promises spacious service from Brussels and Paris to New York. With only 82 seats in three classes, it won't be a direct competitor to L'Avion nor will it be the same as Delta's new JFK-Paris service, which runs like a normal flight. Expect more details to emerge as we get closer to the wheels-up date later this year.
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by pbb
