OpenSkies to become all-premium carrier
Want to fly from New York Kennedy (JFK) to Paris Orly (ORY) or Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) on an airplane with just 64 beautifully placed seats? Want to do so without breaking the bank? OpenSkies (Web site: www.flyopenskies.com), the new British Airways subsidiary, is an option.
On Tuesday (July 29), at a gathering of the National Business Travel Association in Los Angeles, the new-entrant transatlantic carrier announced that it is scrapping 30 economy seats in its long-range 757s, and adding more PREM+ seats instead. That will mean 24 lie-flat seats up front in its BIZ section, and 40 PREM+ seats, further back in the fuselage. Those PREM+ seats recline a comfortable 140 degrees, and offer 52 inches of precious seat pitch (essentially, legroom).
The price for PREM+ from Kennedy to Paris Orly and back is as low as $1,700, round trip.
OpenSkies Managing Director Dale Moss says flyers shouldn’t confuse PREM+ with Premium Economy, a class of service that’s quickly gaining traction across the Atlanta and Pacific. He says PREM+ is a legitimate Business-Class product, just one that’s offered at a lower price.
How does OpenSkies expect to transform itself into an all-premium class carrier and make a go of it on the transatlantic? MAXjet, Eos, and Silverjet have all slipped away, and OpenSkies recently purchased rival L’ Avion.
Moss says OpenSkies takes advantage of British Airways’ fuel hedge, partakes of BA’s code-sharing, and offers a product predicated on value for money.
OpenSkies already flies JFK–Orly nonstop. Beginning October 15 the carrier plans to start making the Kennedy–Amsterdam trip.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler