New era for BA as OpenSkies takes off
19-Jun-2008 |
Airline Code [BAW]
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Tags :UK, British Airways
British Airways’ new subsidiary airline, OpenSkies, launched its first commercial flight on 19-Jun-08 between Paris Orly and New York JFK.
OpenSkies is the first airline created specifically to take advantage of the EU-US Open Skies aviation agreement that enables carriers to opereate between any destinations in the EU and US. It will operate daily services between Paris and New York with Boeing 757 aircraft that will carry up to 82 passengers.
British Airways' Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, said "We are confident that OpenSkies will have a successful future. 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… 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."
A second Boeing 757 is scheduled to join OpenSkies later this year from British Airways' fleet and there will be six OpenSkies aircraft by the end of 2009. Other European destinations being considered for the airline include Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt and Milan.
© Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 19-Jun-08
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New era for BA as OpenSkies takes off 
